iWant To Know Your Plans
by Supernus
Summary: "Our Hearts are heavy burdens we shouldn't have to bear alone" Freddie loses someone important to him and Sam may be the only one who can fill the hole in his heart. Can she save the man she loves from himself and the men who killed his mother? Seddie
1. Cemetery

**A/N: **Welcome to "I Want To Know Your Plans" everyone. Glad you could make it. Allow me to set the mood for you. This story takes place a couple of years into the future. The kids are all 18(ish) now and as such have matured some over the years. I read a lot of fanfics where Freddie helps Sam through emotional trauma, but I wanted to see one where she helped him as well. Special thanks to icarlyangst, not only for being my beta, but also for screening the story for me in the first place. I wasn't sure how my grasp on the characters was, but she made me feel so full of myself I couldn't help but post. If you haven't read her stories, do. The story itself and all of the chapters are the titles of Say Anything songs. The angst and romantic themes in a lot of their songs fit this story well, and also they are my favorite band. So here it goes kids. Hope you like it.

**Chapter 1: Cemetery**

Freddie stood over the grave, staring solemnly down at the freshly turned earth. He knew almost all of the funeral party had left over an hour ago, but Carly, Spencer, and Sam had remained behind. His three friends stood in the background silently offering their support, but saying nothing. They were all afraid to say the wrong thing and had been treating him delicately, like he would break at any moment. Even Sam had been freakishly kind to him for weeks, well, what qualified as nice for Sam. He knew that standing there was pointless. The body in the ground wasn't even his mother anymore, but it still felt wrong to leave her there all alone. He heard a rumble in the sky and a few fat drops of water fell on his head, warning him that it would rain soon like only Seattle could. Carly walked up tentatively behind him.

"Freddie," she started, unsure, "I know this is hard for you, but there is a storm coming. We should probably go."

"Five more minutes," he replied without turning around. His voice sounded strained. She opened her mouth to respond, but Spencer stopped her by shaking his head.

"Five more minutes," the older man agreed, giving Freddie's shoulder a reassuring pat. "Come on Carls, let's bring the car around."

The raven haired teen followed her brother toward the vehicle in question, only turning to look concernedly at Freddie once. A vast improvement over the last few days, which she had spent fussing over him like he was an invalid instead of in mourning. The soft crunch of the fresh grass behind him finally registered and he turned to see Sam walking his way. He was surprised to say the least, but it didn't show in his dead eyes. They stood side by side in silence for several moments before Sam finally attempted conversation.

"So this must really suck," She said, more like a statement than a question.

"Yeah," Freddie agreed. She was as poetic as always. At least some things never changed.

"I'm really sorry Freddie," Sam spoke softly.

This time he couldn't help his eyes widening in shock. Sam never said sorry to anyone, for any reason, least of all him. He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

"It's just…," she paused, struggling for the right words. "No one should have to go through this. I mean your mom was crazy, like SUPER crazy, but she was a good person, and she always took care of you. It should have been someone else, someone who deserved it more" she snorted "hell it should have been MY mom."

She stopped there; the act of speaking from her heart had clearly drained her.

Freddie gave her the ghost of a smile, the first one he had worn since he got the call.

"Thanks Sam," he told her, sincerely, "That's really messed up, but really sweet."

Sam nodded, looking strained. "You can hit me Sam," he offered, "If you try to hold it back to much longer you could explode. I've had enough death for now."

She punched him in the arm, lightly, and gave a smile of her own. They moved a little bit closer together, he drew strength from her presence and she gave it willingly as the rain picked up.

"You know that tomorrow all the special treatment ends, right Fredweird?" Sam warned.

"I know," he nodded.

Carly and Spencer pulled up, honking once to get their attention. Piling into the car they headed back home in silence.

**A/N:** Short and simple. A taste of things to come. The next chapter is much longer. Read and review.


	2. Try To Remember, Forget

**A/N: **I will try to keep this short and sweet. A big round of applause for icarlyangst for editing this chapter as well, especially since I decided to change it to first person at the last minute…while I was drinking. The woman has skill, but don't tell her because her ego is reaching critical capacity ;) This chapter will have a lot more Seddie in it and you will begin to see how the characters have developed as people in the last couple of years. No Carly in here, mostly because I hate writing her so I'm putting it off as long as possible. I can't relate to that character on any level so getting in her head makes mine hurt. Without further ado, chapter two. (See what I did there? With the rhyming?)

**Chapter 2: Try To Remember, Forget**

**{[…Freddie's P.O.V…]}**

I said my goodbyes to the other three for the night, assuring Carly I would be fine for the umpteenth time. Finally, I managed to halt their condolences and piteous looks long enough to get over to my own house. Walking in, I took off my suit jacket and chucked it at random into the room, too mentally and physically exhausted to put it up where it was supposed to go. It was quiet and absurdly clean, just like always. I felt like in a couple of hours my mom would come back from her shift at the hospital and reprimand me for being up so late, saying it was "All that Carly Shay's Fault." But that wasn't going to happen. My chest tightened as the events of the day finally struck me with a certainty that I couldn't shake. It felt like the reaper himself was clutching at my heart, squeezing all the air from my lungs. I heaved a heavy sigh and ran my hands through my hair, willing myself to calm down. That had been happening a lot lately, anxiety or panic or depression or whatever. I didn't really care. An aunt of mine had suggested I go see someone about it, but I didn't want to just get over this. The woman who had birthed and raised me had been cruelly murdered, it should feel like shit.

I walked over to the TV and flipped it on, turning the volume up so that the house wouldn't seem quite as empty and then went to change out of my wet clothes. Slipping on a pair of pajama pants and a tank top I considered bed, but I wasn't ready for the day to be over quite yet so I opted for some mindless television instead. Flipping idly through the channels I finally settled on a cooking channel. It didn't really matter what I was watching as long as it didn't suck. I'm not sure how long I sat there, drifting in and out of a fitful sleep, probably an hour or two, but when I heard a scraping sound from the hall side of my door. I was suddenly very awake. Some jackass was trying to break into my house.

"_Really God?" _I questioned in my mind, _"Today of all days? Is nothing sacred?"_

I chuckled a little at that one as I crept down the hall to get my bat from the bedroom closet. Laughing at a time like this, I really did need some sleep; I was starting to lose it. I gripped the bat in my hands, the cool feel of the aluminum spreading through my body, giving me a grim sense of determination. I really wanted to hurt someone, anyone, right now.

"_Maybe you're on my side after all," _I mused.

I snuck back into the living room, standing at a point in front of the door where I would be able to strike the intruder before he saw me. I tightened my grip as I heard the loud _Click! _of the lock coming open. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as the knob turned and the door started to open slowly. Once the gap was wide enough I brought my improvised weapon back, my muscles tensing in anticipation. I brought the bat down hard, just as the thief's head came into view, perfect timing, if you didn't count that the he was a she and that she was a very good friend of mine. Panicking, I tried to shout a warning, but I knew it was a little late at that point.

"_Just couldn't help getting one more laugh at my expense could ya you sick fuck." _I thought at God.

I jerked my arms sideways as hard as I could, just grazing the swath of blonde curls in front of me and striking the doorframe instead.

"Fuck!" I cursed loudly as part of the frame splintered and the shock of the impact traveled up the metal of the bat and into my hands. I dropped the cudgel instantly, my hands stinging like crazy and directed my attention to the wide-eyed girl in my entryway.

"What the hell Sam!" I shouted, "I could have caved your skull in!"

She didn't respond at first. She stood there with her chest heaving from the shock in a way I was finding increasingly distracting. For a split second her eyes raked over me and she licked her lips, making me question just what the hell was going on, but just as soon as the moment had come, it was gone and Sam was back to herself. Her eyes flashed in indignation as she looked up at me.

"Let's be honest here Freddork," she snorted derisively, "you couldn't cave anyone's skull with those bony nerd arms. And as soon as I get back up from that little bump on the head I would bring you pain with that bat in ways you never would have thought of."

The comment made me even angrier, but that's what she wanted. It was a challenge, Sam's automatic reaction to situations where she was wrong. If she couldn't win with logic she would win with force. Taking the bait wouldn't do anyone any good, so I forced myself to calm down and focused on something other than how cute she looked angry.

"What are you doing breaking into my house in the first place?" I asked her.

"Well I don't have a key, so how else was I supposed to get in?" she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And what's with the six locks? Momma likes a challenge, but that's just paranoid."

I had thought the same thing when my mom had installed them, but here Sam was having bested them all. Maybe my mom wasn't as unreasonable as I had thought. I rubbed at my eyes exasperated with the turn my night had taken.

"Let's try this again," I started.

"Why did you need into my house in the first place?"

Her eyes lit up in a way that I knew meant she was up to no good. She pulled one hand out from behind her back, revealing a gargantuan bottle of vodka.

"Does a girl need a reason to help a friend?" She asked innocently. I considered making a comment about mood swings, but decided I like my head where it was for the time being.

With a sigh I gestured her into the house and towards the kitchen. She went to work immediately, pulling assorted juices and glasses from the cupboards. I propped the bat up next to the door, deciding that would be its new home. I tried to close the door, but a piece of shattered wood was in the way, so I fiddled with the door until it closed properly and made a mental note to call maintenance sometime soon. Sam declared the drinks were ready so I walked over to the breakfast bar to join her. She gestured at one of two glasses with a small amount of straight Vodka in the bottom and I picked it up as she did the same.

"Where did you even get this?" I questioned. She just shook her head.

"Less talky more drinky," and with that she unceremoniously downed her own dose of the clear liquid. I stared at my glass for a moment, frowning. This wasn't really my style, but I figured if eighteen was old enough to bury my mom it was old enough to have a drink or twenty. The Vodka hit the back of my throat like liquid fire and I couldn't help grimacing.

""How do people drink this stuff?" I asked Sam, deferring to her substantially more vast experience in the areas of alcohol and delinquency in general.

"By mixing," she told me, shaking a bottle of orange juice to emphasis the point. "That was just to get the night started off right."

I nodded, quietly watching her work.

She was extremely absorbed in what she was doing, which was good for me, because I had been openly ogling her for the last thirty seconds or so. For what was probably the millionth time, I wished I could just grow a pair and ask her out instead of fearing rejection or the ruination of our group dynamic. Things had been different the last several years, Sam and I were closer, but every time I thought she was into me she did something to change my mind. She was in pajama pants and a t-shirt that was baggy enough to be comfortable, but tight enough to be tantalizing when she turned just the right way. She always tried to hide the curves she had developed in the last few years, much to my personal chagrin. I realized my thought process was circling the gutter rather dangerously and decided to redirect my attention before she caught me staring.

"So you never answered my question," I pushed.

"Stole it from my mom's stash," she confided, without looking up.

I was genuinely concerned. I didn't know much about Sam's mom or her home life, but I wasn't stupid. I had a hunch that those clothes weren't just hiding her curves and when she covered her body it wasn't to discourage the high school boys she could easily handle herself. But Sam would never admit to it. Not to me anyway. There were some things only Carly got to know and I was fine with that…for now.

"Won't she notice it's gone?" I asked.

"Come on, what kind of amateur do you think I am? She will wake up hung-over like always and just think she drank it, but either way Spence has my back. He is gonna replace it for me in the morning."

"Spencer knows you're over here?" I asked, shocked. Sam grinned.

"He practically pushed me out the door. He said 'If anyone ever needed a drink its Freddie, right now. I'll tell Carls I drove you home. I think it's better for everyone if she doesn't know about this.'"

I shook my head in wonder as Sam handed me my new drink. The new concoction was fruity and delicious with a bit of an edge at the end from the booze that I quickly decided I liked. Maybe this getting drunk stuff wasn't so bad after all.

"So," she started, halfway through her own glass already, "you gonna give me a tour or what?"

I walked her through the house, pointing out the various rooms as we went. When we reached the bathroom she let out a long, low whistle.

"Shoulda known a neat freak like your mom would have a bathroom built for a queen of clean." She laughed at her own joke and I rolled my eyes.

"Your shower is the size of my whole bathroom," she continued in awe, "but then you've got a whirlpool tub and…is that a heat lamp?"

I shrugged, "It was actually like this when we moved in, the last guy to own it this place used it as a vacation home for wild Seattle parties that required a tub big enough for 3 bimbos, with room to spare."

"For crying out loud the toilet has a motion sensor! Rich bastard," she muttered. Sam was equal parts impressed and angry at the wanton extravagance. I laughed.

"That's actually what sold my mom on the house. She is so afraid of germs that she hates knobs and handles cause people touch them all day…or she did," I corrected myself, remembering that she wasn't around anymore. I carried on a little less jovial than before.

"There are maybe four doors in the whole house, she wanted it as open and as knobless as possible."

"I wish my house was a little more knobless," Sam joked. I smiled as much at the joke as her attempt to lighten the mood.

"How are you going to afford all this now, Fredweird?"

I looked at her, a little surprised by her concern, but I didn't want to ruin the moment so I passed it off as an effect of the booze. Now that I thought about it, my cup was empty too.

"If we're gonna have this conversation, I'm gonna need another drink," I said, shaking my cup.

She smiled, "Now you're talking."

We plopped down on the couch, refreshed drinks in hand. I noticed idly that this one seemed more juice- laced vodka than the other way around, but the warm, fuzzy feeling spreading through my limbs kept me from caring much. In the dim light from the television, Sam looked absurdly beautiful. Her hair was tousled from the night events and the alcohol had relaxed her in a way I rarely saw, but had always loved. She had sat down pretty close to me, half laying down she had thrown one of her legs over both of mine before reclining against a pillow. My mouth suddenly felt dry, so I took another swig before talking.

"So you like the place huh?" I asked, gesturing around a little more haphazardly than I had intended. She nodded her approval and I smiled.

"Well you can enjoy it whenever you want because it now belongs to yours Freddy" I pointed at myself proudly, grinning in a fashion I can only assume looked completely idiotic.

Sam's eyes went wide. "No fuckin way."

"Yes fuckin way," I assured her, "My mom left it all to me in the will. She left everything to me in the will. Along with making me the sole benefactor of her unfrickinbelievably huge life insurance policy. I feel bad for calling her paranoid now."

I frowned, looking at my glass. I decided I really wasn't drunk enough for the discussion and promptly downed the rest of it. I got up to put my glass in the sink and came back with the bottle of vodka itself.

"What about your dad?" She asked, grabbing the bottle out of my hands and taking a long pull. She was asking too many difficult questions in a row for it to be a coincidence. Sam was getting me to open up about the things that were eating away at me. I was shocked, touched, and pissed, but I didn't call her out because I was afraid she would leave. Afraid I would be alone in here again.

"What about him?" I spat. "He showed up for the reading and as soon as he found out he wasn't getting anything aside from a letter he went back to his latest floozy in San Fran. Thank god I'm eighteen so I can take control of the estate and live on my own instead of that cheating piece of shit getting it all."

I took the bottle back and tried to replicate the grace and size of her last drink, but failed miserably and ended up spluttering half of it across the front of myself.

_Smooth Freddie…I bet she has never wanted you more._

She laughed hysterically while I looked down at the second top I had soaked today. It just served to make me even more pissed off and I fixed Sam with a serious look, cutting off her stream of giggles. All joviality was sucked from the room as her eyes met mine.

"I'm just saying if I told a woman I loved her, if she bore my child, I would treat with respect. I would keep my vows. I would mean the things I said to her instead of abandoning her and my son. Leaving her so lonely that she cries at night when she thinks her kid can't hear her. But I could Sam, I could hear her every time." I held her gaze for a few more moments before breaking eye contact. The silence in the room was palpable and Sam shivered slightly next to me. I went to take another swig from the bottle, but Sam put her hand on mine, stopping me.

"That's enough for you nub. You're such a teetotaler you're already wasted and if you puke there is no way in hell I'm cleaning it up." She took the bottle away from me and set it on the coffee table. I tried to protest, but all I managed to do was burp and sway precariously. Point taken. Let it never be said that Freddie Benson is a slow learner.

"Come on Freddie, let's get you to bed." She swung one of my arms over her shoulder. I didn't really need the help, but the contact with her was nice and she smelled amazing, like lilies and bacon, so I kept my mouth shut.

She tossed me on the bed in a sitting position, standing in front of me with her hands on her hips. I stared back at her a little dazedly, a goofy smile spreading across my face as I realized she had called me Freddie and not some dumb nickname.

"Honest to god, if I had known I would end up taking care of you I never would have come over here," she muttered to herself, but there was no conviction in her voice.

"Alright, arms up," she commanded. I obeyed instantly, willing to do anything she said at this point in my night. She pulled the wet tank off of my body. Pulling back her skin came in contact with mine, the pads of her fingers grazing the underside of my ribs gently, sending shivers down my spine. She let out a little hiss, shivering again.

"You ok?" I asked, finally remembering my manners. "You've been shivering a lot."

"Fine," she assured me, a far off look in her eyes, "just cold."

I nodded my understanding.

"Hey Sam?"

She peered at me through the golden tresses that had fallen in front of her eyes, making her look wild and sexy as hell. I forgot what I was doing for a second as I got lost in her gaze.

"I'm really glad you came over tonight," I said finally.

The intimacy of the moment and the sincerity of my voice must have caught her off guard because she suddenly looked panicked. Not sure what to do in a situation this "real." I sighed inwardly, awaiting the deflection I knew was coming.

"You're just glad someone came over with boobs and booze. You would have been a lot happier if it was Carly." The moment was officially over. She must have seen the hurt in my eyes because she quickly looked away. This was the way things always were with us. I would try to get closer and just as it looked I was about to succeed she would push me away. Two steps forward, one step back. But I was making progress, I knew I was, today was proof of that. I wasn't even close to giving up. Before she could make her getaway, I locked her eyes with mine again, channeling as much emotion as I could through the look. She shivered again and before I could help myself I wrapped her up in my arms, pulling us both backward onto the mattress. She landed directly on top of me, her hands shot out instinctively to catch herself, placing them directly on the exposed skin of my chest. I grunted softly from the impact, but quickly recovered and tightened my grip on her midriff so she couldn't escape, and buried my face in her hair. It was half impulse and half survival instinct, I had always wanted to see if her hair felt as silky as it looked AND I wanted my nose out of punching range. When nothing happened, I exhaled slowly and pulled back so I could look up at her face.

"What the hell Freddie?" she said trying to sound pissed, but even drunk, I could tell it was forced. I cheered internally at this tiny victory, but I knew I was pushing my luck so I decided to give her an out.

"You were cold," I said simply, "alcohol lowers your internal body temperature," I paused here to yawn, fatigue beginning to overcome me now that I was in bed. "Fastest way to warm you up was body heat."

Sam huffed loudly, but I could have sworn I felt her burrow slightly into my embrace, or maybe it was a struggle for freedom. Hell I couldn't tell anymore, today was getting nuts.

"Don't think just because you've got me drunk and alone in your bed that you can take advantage of me nerd," she warned, "I saw where you left the bat, all previous threats still stand."

I smiled, "I know."

I flipped us onto our sides, so we were facing each other, our heads on the pillows.

My breathing started to level as sleep began to creep up on me. I felt Sam reach down and pull the blankets up to cover us, then spin around, backing up against my body so that we were spooning. I smiled for the hundredth time that night and let a contented sigh out into her hair.

"Hey Sam," I mumbled softly.

"Yeah?"

"You're wrong. I'm glad it was you."

And with that I was out.

**A/N: **They are too effin cute. As always please review. I'm a patently unmotivated guy so the only thing that gets me moving is the delicious taste of fresh reviews in the morning. Thanks for reading.


	3. Sorry Dudes, My Bad

**A/N:** *Looks around suspiciously* So…that was an awful lot of reviews in a very short amount of time. Some might say a suspiciously large amount. What are you people trying to do huh? I know you're up to something! Is this what you want? Another chapter? Is that all I'm good for? *sob* Fine, take it, take it and go…but leave a review on the way out…monsters. On a more serious note this chapter will establish a lot more of what went on in the last couple of years that led our intrepid young trio to this point in their lives. Gotta get the back-story out of the way to line us up for adventures. Starts light and gets heavy later on. As I write this I figure I'm maybe half way through so it will probably be long as well. Please enjoy.

**Sorry Dudes, My Bad**

{[…Freddies P.O.V…]}

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that I had slept better than I remembered having slept in months. This was quickly followed by the realization that someone was trying to split my head open with a hammer. No wait, that's just a massive hangover…yay?

"_You give us alcohol to help us forget our problems, but then it gives us more in the morning. Benevolent my ass."_ I silently cursed skyward.

Grumbling, I rolled over carefully, hoping not to wake Sam on my quest to the medicine cabinet, but when I looked over she wasn't next to me. In fact, after a quick tour of the house, I realized she wasn't there at all. I walked to the kitchen in a funk. Last night had been great, or at least so I had thought. Then again, I had been drunk and the details were a little shaky. Maybe Sam hadn't had a good time, maybe I had offended her, and maybe I was losing my damn mind for having these thoughts in the first place. I plopped myself down at the breakfast bar, lamenting women and life in general in the way that only a teenage boy with a crush and a headache can, when I noticed something on the counter in front of me. Picking up the hastily scrawled note I read it quickly.

_You're a drinking nub so I know you're gonna have one hell of a hangover. Take these and stay inside for a few hours until light and sound stop being your mortal enemies. Tell anyone about last night and I will hurt you in ways that redefine the word._

_Sam_

_P.S._

_It's a brand new day Fredtard. The special treatment is over._

I couldn't help but smile. She had left the note to let me know that everything was ok. I was thrilled and anxious about what had happened the previous night. I had pushed Sam's limits farther than I had ever dared before and made it out not only alive, but on top…er…figuratively. I knew that no matter how much she tried to hide it, Sam actually did give a rat's ass about her friends. Maybe even two rat's asses. If she was willing to clear the air between us it meant she was ok and maybe even ready for more, whatever _more_ was. I was starting to figure her out. Each bit of information collected was a new piece in the beautiful, meat loving, rage filled puzzle that was Samantha Pucket. My head gave a particular forceful throb and I decided that thinking time was later and shower time was now. I rose from my seat slowly, nursing my aching head, and swallowed the pills she had left behind. Pulling out my PearPhone, I sent Sam an IM.

**Fred: You know you told me "no special treatment" on a handwritten note next to a glass of water and some pills you set out for me? The only thing it was missing was a confession of your undying love**

If only, but life with Sam was never that easy. I worried I was starting to like the challenge and pondered briefly what that said about me. It didn't take long for her to respond.

**Sam: So that's the way you wanna play it huh Benson? Bad move**

I pocketed the phone and walked toward the bathroom, whistling the whole way. It really was shameless the way we flirted. Sooner or later something was gonna give and after last night, I planned on pushing harder than ever. The game was afoot. It was going to be a good day.

"Remind me again why we couldn't take your car?" Sam grunted at me from across the seat.

"Because it's not mine until the insurance gets switched over and I don't want to get busted for driving it," I explained for the 4th time.

"Pansy," Sam mumbled, but left it at that. I sighed.

The three of us had met up for our lunch date this afternoon only to realize that we would be sharing Spencer's car space with a strange collection of objects he was using for his next "art" project. Sam elbowed the pile of junk in between us, digging a large metal spike into my ribs. I shot her a glare fully intending to hit her right back with an unassuming piece of drift wood, but I was stopped dead mid-attack. She was looking up at me through her eyelashes in what may have been the single largest display of unbridled lust I had ever seen in my life. I swallowed hard, or tried to; my body wasn't functioning correctly at this point. Most of my "thinking" blood was being redirected against my will. Realizing she had my attention, she blinked once and bit her bottom lip. How? How did she make that blink sexy? Right about the time I thought I might do something stupid, Carly's voice cut through from up front.

"You two ok back there?" she asked, turning in her seat to look at us.

The spell was broken. I shook myself to clear the fog and Sam gave me a wicked smile that confirmed she had been messing with my head…heads…you get the point. I gave Carly an awkward smile.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" I may have laughed nervously. It wasn't my best work.

"You two had been quiet for so long I thought Sam had killed or gagged you," Carly said, smiling her big Carly smile.

"I love how killed is the more likely of the two," I joked. I saw Sam smile in a very self-satisfied way.

"So why the weird face, Freddie?" Carly questioned. Damn her for being intuitive! It's part of what made her such a good web show host. She could read people like they were books. I cast around desperately for a cover story.

"It's just all this stuff back here," I started, "seems kind of random. What did you say the project was, Spence?"

"I'm making a giant Heavy Metal squid for a concert on the pier entirely out of sea debris and items donated by the bands," he said. "It's going on the stage as the primary backdrop. Should be pretty sweet with all the lights and fog machines."

I nodded my understanding and muttered something vaguely supportive. Conversation successfully deflected. I was feeling pretty good about myself when my PearPhone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket and took a look at the screen.

**Sam: 1**

**Fredweird: 0**

**Game On**

Oh she was good, too good. The odds of me winning were slim, but you better believe I was going down fighting. Looking to my right I gave her a cocky smirk that withered her smug smile. I made sure she was watching as I very pointedly typed out a message and hit send.

**Freddie: Just remember Sam, you started this. No mercy**

I saw her eyes glint mischievously as she read the message. She was getting excited at our battle of wills and I had to admit, so was I. I was still plotting my next course of action when we pulled up to the café that had become our latest hangout spot. We had ditched smoothies with our childhood. Deciding that coffee was the drink of older and more sophisticated people such as ourselves. It seemed to me that picking a café named "Java the Hut" with a neon sign that read "Come get mugged" out front seemed counterproductive to our adult image, but the drinks were well made and the sandwiches were tasty so we kept coming back. The guy who owned the place was young, so he played good music and used a small stage in the back for local bands and small, fun events. We had shot an episode of iCarly here once at his behest. It was our first show intentionally shot in front of a live audience and it had brought him so much business that three of us ate and drank for free from that point on. We all got out and said our goodbyes to Spencer.

"Sorry I can't pick you guys back up," he apologized. Carly shook her head.

"Don't worry about it Spencer, it's only 6 blocks from the house; we are just lazy. If it really gets that bad, we will just call a cab."

Spencer smiled and said goodbye before speeding off down the road to bigger and better sea creatures. The three of us walked into the café like rock stars. Everyone who came here knew us either from the show or the pictures on the wall. iCarly had gotten huge in recent years. Like, obscenely huge. A couple years back, I had got this brilliant idea to start selling merchandise. So with a little venture capital procured from the local bank, we had simple things like shirts and buttons made with the girls faces and funny quotes from the show. As it turned out, people wanted to wear us almost as much as they wanted to see us. Before long, not only had we paid the loan back, but the bank was looking to invest in us. With more money came a bigger budget, a bigger budget meant a better show, better show meant more viewers, and more viewers meant more demand for merchandise…and so on and so forth. It was a vicious and lucrative circle that left us with a solid chunk of spending cash. After we convinced Sam that buying her own monster truck was a horrible idea and that she was too young to manage a UFC team or start a pig farm, she finally conceded to a college fund so the three of us could attend school together.

As we walked toward our usual place in the back, we got the normal greetings and adorations from fans and friends alike, as well as questions as to when what was now being referred to as the "college hiatus" would be over. We responded, as we had countless times before, that once we had enrolled, moved into the dorms and found a suitable filming studio, that we would get back under way. We had barely sat down when we saw the owner walking our way and we all grinned.

"iCrew! Whats good?" Chris greeted us warmly.

He was an attractive twenty-something guy, with elegantly disheveled hair and a good physique that played in a popular local band AND owned his own successful business. Where did the man find the time? Carly was absolutely gaga over him. I remember when we had first started coming here I was a little jealous of how much everyone liked him, but that was just Chris, you couldn't hate the guy; it was like some kind of unwritten cosmic rule. Besides, a lot of things had changed since then…ok, so mostly things had changed between Sam and I. I wasn't hung up on Carly and, by extension, annoyed with any guy she had a crush on.

"Hey Chris," I returned his enthusiasm, "just getting through the year. How're things with you?"

"Great," he smiled, "thanks to you three giving me exclusive rights to the iCarly travel mug. Business is booming and my band has a gig at the pier tonight. You should come."

"I'd love to!" Carly gushed like he had been speaking exclusively to her.

"Any chance this gig involves a giant squid?" I asked, questioning the odds.

"How did you know?" Chris sounded disappointed. "SCUDlefish was supposed to be a surprise."

I laughed at the pun. SCUD was the name of his band, after the soviet missiles. Because, as Chris had said, "What's more metal than Russia and Explosives?"

"Carly's brother is the artist you guys hired to make him. We just climbed out of a car loaded with SCUDlefish bits," Sam replied.

"No joke? Small world," Chris mused. "In that case you definitely have to be there. You can support us and your brother," he winked at Carly. Physically impossible as it sounds, she actually melted right on the spot.

"That's a yes from her, but I think I'm busy tonight," I lied.

I liked Chris, but concerts weren't my thing, neither was heavy metal. I think he knew that because he just nodded his understanding.

"I'll get you guys the usual, on the house like always." He gave us one last grin before walking toward the kitchen.

"Thanks Chris," I called after him.

Carly had recovered only to launch into a series of girlish squeals about her "date" with Chris and what she should wear. The food and coffee came out in an orderly fashion and Chris gave Carly the time of the concert as well as a backstage pass. Sam had to kick her to snap her out of her dream state, at which point I think she started choosing names for her future Chris-babies. I ignored her for the better part of ten minutes while I drank my macchiato and enjoyed the sweet taste of BLT. I was pulled out of my silent musings on the magic of fresh bacon by Sam launching into a sudden coughing fit.

"Wha-what was that?" she choked out around her triple meat tower Panini, with Gouda, grilled onion and coarse ground mustard. A sandwich listed on Java the Huts menu as The Pucket.

"I asked where you went last night," Carly stated. Giving Sam her most innocent _why-would-that-be-a-problem?_ face. Damn, that girl was good. I decided now was the perfect time for my counter-attack.

"She was at my place getting plastered Carly," I told her matter-of-factly. I leaned in to whisper the next bit, as if confiding some dark secret. "In fact, we slept together," I said, just loudly enough that the two of them could hear and no one else.

The effect on Sam was instantaneous. She began spluttering uncontrollably, her face turning beat red from the combination of embarrassment and confusion. Sweet, naïve Carly mistook her current state for some kind of blood rage and immediately tried to defuse the situation.

"Very funny Freddie," she said in a tone that told me it most certainly wasn't. "If Sam tries to kill you for that I won't stop her this time."

Did she just turn her nose up at me? I didn't think people actually did that.

I smiled at Sam and held up one finger, wagging it back and forth mockingly. Sam, realizing that the proverbial bullet had been dodged, responded with a swift and powerful kick to the shins. Did I mention there was no way I could win this? I was nursing my battle wound when a dark figure approached our table and sat down.

The man had placed himself to my left, sitting directly across from Sam. He was around 5'8, dark skinned, with features that could only be described as hawkish. He had a large nose and a long, sinewy body, composed entirely out of lean muscle and hard angles. He was dressed in a dark jacket that looked like it had been expensive when he bought it, but was now just as faded as the plain red t-shirt and jeans he wore with it. He had turned his predatory gaze on Sam, looking at her with an intense curiosity. Sam, to her credit, stared right back, stopping only to take a bite of her sandwich. When she broke eye contact he took the opportunity to turn his attention toward me instead.

"Evening Fred," he greeted.

"Akhmin," I nodded back, "any news?"

Any and all mirth had been sucked from the air surrounding the table and replaced with pure, unadulterated tension. This man was like an eagle and he made all of us look like field mice. Carly looked extremely uneasy and it hadn't escaped Akhmin's notice.

"Maybe you should introduce me first, kid," he suggested. I sighed and scrubbed my hand across my face. I had been hoping to avoid this.

"This," I said, gesturing to the man on my left, "is Private Detective Akhmin Petbe. Akhmin these are my two best friends-"

"Carly Shay and Samantha Pucket," he finished for me. Detectives were such know-it-all's.

"I hired Akhmin to solve my mother's murder," I said, glaring at the man in question.

"Freddie…," Carly's voice was full of pity. We had talked about this before. "You don't even know that it was a murder."

"Someone hit her, backed up over her body, and then dumped her body in front of her hospital. In what way is that not a murder?" My voice had acquired a dangerous edge. Carly flinched at the anger I was radiating, but kept talking, undeterred.

"I know you're hurt Freddie. I lost my mom too, remember? But this," she waved a hand at the detective, "this isn't the answer. If you keep this up you're gonna drive yourself crazy! What if you never find out who is responsible? Are you going to continue this crusade forever?"

The question hung in the air tantalizingly close, just waiting to be touched, but I didn't have an answer. My knee-jerk reaction was to scream yes and storm out of the restaurant, but even as I had the thought I knew it was absurd. Carly could be overbearing and, in ways, even more immature than Sam, but she was fiercely loyal and exceedingly wise when the mood struck her. She was forcing me to consider possibilities that I hadn't up until now, making me face the things I didn't want to face. I loved and hated her for it in equal measure. I could feel the fight leaving me and the tension leaked out of the air with it. What was I doing? Akhmin, ever perceptive, sensed a change in the atmosphere and chose that moment to intervene.

"But what if he is right?" The older man questioned.

"What?" Carly asked, taken off guard. It was clear she thought she had already won this argument.

"What if he's right? What if his mother was brutally murdered? By say…a drug lord?" Freddie's eyes shot up questioningly, but Akhmin waved him to silence. "Does he not have the right to satisfy his curiosity? To avenge his mother since he couldn't be there to protect her? You think that you can confront this problem go away with reason, but an unreasonable act was committed. Chaos corrupts sanity, it is the way of the world and sometimes, when that happens, fire has to be fought with fire. I am that fire." He looked into Carly's eyes and I saw her quake involuntarily. After a few moments the brunette realized she was actually expected to answer his questions.

"That's a lot of what if's," she said firmly. "If we knew that it was a murder, or who had done it, or even where to start looking, then of course I would support him, but he can't just go around grasping at straws."

Akhmin smiled in a way that made him look more hungry than happy and I swore I heard Sam chuckle under her breath.

"I'm so glad you feel that way," he told her, leaning back in his seat "because I didn't just come here to make your lunch uncomfortable, as much as it has been. I have news." I looked at him questioningly. "News about your mother's murder," he clarified.

My blood ran cold. Suddenly all I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears and my vision tunneled until the P.I. was the only thing that I could see. This was what I wanted right? Justice? Closure? Revenge? I was just now starting to realize how tall an order that was and for a moment I pondered just putting it all down and walking away. But then the image of my mother's face when I had to identify the body flashed through my mind like a lightning bolt and burned away all my doubt. This had to be done. And I had to do it.

"Tell me," I ordered. Akhmin fought a smile and nodded once before continuing.

"I discovered yesterday that the day before her murder Miss Benson was on her way home when she witnessed the end of a gang battle. Dialing 911 she rushed to the scene, I assume to help any wounded. Upon her arrival, she saw two men fleeing the parking garage and found three more on the ground. Two dead, one seriously wounded. She performed emergency medical care on the injured man using a first aid kit she kept in the back of her car, stabilizing him, but left before the paramedics arrived. The man she rescued was Vincent Bacchus, a big-shot cartel leader from Oregon, looking to expand his empire. I have reason to believe one of the men she saw running away was Jesus Fuentes; head of the biggest Cocaine ring this side of the Mississippi. A man who likes to remain in shadow, a man who might not want his enemies kept alive…or his identity revealed." Akhmin leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his interwoven fingers. "So as you can see, young Mr. Benson will be needing plenty of support," he paused here to look cryptically at Sam, "from both of you."

With that he rose from the table, straightening his clothes, and walked across the café. "I'll be in touch," he called to Freddie over his shoulder. Then he opened the door and disappeared onto the busy street. I shook my head, trying to organize the mad jumble of thoughts bouncing around my brain. I would never get used to how intense Akhmin Petbe was, but he was the best and my mom deserved nothing less.

"I guess you were right," Carly told me. She sounded hurt.

"It's not about being right Carls," I reasoned "It's about bringing a murderer to justice."

"I know," she said, with a heavy sigh. "But that guy was just so creepy! Half the time he was talking I swear all I heard was 'Oh my! Your face looks delicious little girl'."

"I bet he figured with those lips he could get at least two meals out of it," Sam laughed.

"Way to have my back Sam," Carly grumbled.

"Hey, momma knows when she is outmatched. You don't mess with Akhmin 'Ghost Killer' Petbe."

Carly and I exchanged shocked looks before turning our attention back toward Sam. In all of the time we had known her, Sam had never willingly admitted defeat to anyone. It just wasn't in her nature to surrender, but here she was giving up like it was no big deal. I was curious what she knew that I didn't, but our happy lunch had taken a heavy enough turn as it was and I didn't want to ruin it further.

"What do we do now?" Carly questioned.

"What do you mean?" asked Sam.

"Well, we have a lead on the killer. What do we do with the information? Send out a call to arms on iCarly? Start digging around to see what we can find? Get all Scooby Doo up in here and set a trap to catch Old Man Jenkins?"

"No," I said flatly. The two of them looked at me curiously. "We aren't getting involved in this right now, at least no more than we already are. Akhmin is on this, it's why I hired him, if he needs my help with anything than he will find me, but I better not see either of you getting involved." I pointed at each of in turn to emphasize my point. "This Jesus guy already killed one person I love for no good reason. I don't want that to happen again." Carly smiled and Sam got a very strange look in her eyes. "Honestly, even being around me is dangerous for you two, he could find out any day that the woman who saw him had a son that she might have said something to." I sighed…heavily.

"Well, look at little Frednub taking charge. Did you finally grow a pair or are you just borrowing someone else's for a couple days?" She glared at me with a level of intensity that was almost surreal.

"Don't Sam," I warned her "I'm really not in the mood."

"Don't what?" she seethed. "Worry about you? Oh god forbid we feel the slightest bit of concern for the Mighty Benson. He faces one tragedy and suddenly the weight of the world is his to bear alone!" She raised the back of her hand to her forehead in mock distress. "Listen," she said, leaning in dangerously close to my face "I've never needed your permission or your protection before and I'm not starting now. Come and find me when you're ready to handle this like a big boy." And with that, she stormed from the building, slamming the door behind her.

"Did everyone take crazy pills this morning!" I shouted aloud. "We are all acting like hormonal, bi-polar, psychopaths!" I heard Carly snicker next to me and gave her a look that clearly said _"Really Carly? Right now?"_

"Sorry," she managed to get out around giggles "but you're right, we have all been acting absurd. It's like you said; Akhmin has this under control, so we shouldn't worry. Just live life like normal."

"Normal," I said slowly, testing the word. I wasn't sure I knew what that was anymore, but I liked the idea. "Good plan," I said rising from my seat "I'm gonna go apologize to Sam. You coming with?" She shook her head.

"Oh no. You are not dragging me into a Sam Pucket rage storm. You whipped this up, you handle it."

I grimaced.

"I'm going to wait here for another hour or so until Chris gets off and ride with him to the concert," she said. "Go easy on Sam, Freddie; she is just worried about you."

I smiled sadly. "I know, thanks Carls." I kissed her on the head in a brotherly fashion and she rubbed my back reassuringly. "Have fun tonight, don't do anything I would," I warned.

"Get lost," she told me with a smile.

As I walked out of the café I made sure to get Chris' attention. I pointed two fingers at my own eyes, back at him, and finally to Carly, then drew my thumb across my throat in a threatening fashion, in the universal sign for _"I'm watching you boy. Do anything to hurt her and I keel you."_ He looked around himself frantically, hoping there was anyone else around I could be threatening, but he was alone. He smiled nervously and nodded his head quickly to show he got the message loud and clear. I grinned to myself maniacally, being scary was fun, I could see why Sam loved it so much. Sam…

I hung my head as I left Java the Hut and began the trek back home. She was going to rip my head off when she saw me. My only hope was to apologize faster than she could punch…which meant I was going to get hit for sure. At least I knew where to find her.

I stopped at the bottom of the last flight, huffing and puffing from the multi story climb up the fire escape. I had considered just taking the elevator up and climbing out a window, but I knew she locked them all when she was really mad to keep everyone away. If that girl was one thing it was thorough, and beautiful, and infuriating, and wonderful…focus Freddie. I let my breathing level before ascending the last story so I wouldn't be exhausted when I reached her, partially because I didn't want to be too tired to defend myself and partially because I didn't want to look out of shape in front of my dream girl. I poked my head up and peered around cautiously, Sam had set herself up a chair in the corner of the platform; she looked at me nonchalantly before gazing back out across the Seattle landscape. I quickly put the last few steps behind me and stood as far from her as the hand rails would allow, trying to gauge her mood before engaging, but she didn't reveal anything helpful. I was about to give up and try my luck when she finally spoke.

"I didn't expect you so soon Freddie." The way she said my name made me shiver despite the warm wind that was blowing up the side of the complex.

I figured anything I said would get me in more trouble so I just stood there, waiting. She rose from her seat, walking towards me in a manner that was both cool and passionate. For a fleeting moment she looked just like the ocean. Calm on the surface, with powerful currents of emotion running just below what you could see and a storm rolling in over the horizon. I didn't have long to ponder my sudden talent with poetic reflection before her hand violently made friends with my face. Showing any pain would only make me vulnerable to further onslaughts so I gathered myself, slowly, and turned to face her, returning her level expression.

"That was for being an ass," her voice was raw.

That was it? I had expected much worse considering the level of j I had displayed back at the café, but I certainly wasn't going to argue with this fortunate turn of events. I opened my mouth to apologize as profusely as possible, but then her lips came in contact with mine and whatever I had been planning to say was nowhere near as important as what was happening right at that moment.

I wasted no time wrapping my arms around her waist and she returned the favor, grasping handfuls of my hair and pulling me harshly against her lips. My skin burned with the feel of her. She was flush against me and I honestly didn't know what I was going to do. The things she was doing to me on a cellular level were indescribable. She moved her left hand down to gently caress my cheek where she had slapped me only moments before and I increased the intensity of the kiss, trying to let her know it was ok, that it was so 40 seconds ago and I was way beyond caring at this point. She got the message somehow through the haze of electricity arcing between our bodies and responded by chewing my lower lip greedily. My body finally caught up with what was happening and I pushed her backwards until she was against the railing, using the leverage to remove the last few molecules of space between us and she gave a slight groan of pleasure. I was completely losing myself in her. In the sea of wrong that had been my life for the last couple of months, Sam had done the impossible and created one solitary island of right. It felt so unfuckingbelievably good I was afraid what I would do if I didn't slow down. We needed to talk before this went too far, but knowing it and acting on the knowledge were two totally different things. Luckily the rickety railing chose that exact moment to groan warily from the pressure induced by our feverish kissing.

Not wanting to lose whatever I had just gained to a ten-story drop, I pulled back slightly, letting her feet come back in full contact with the ground. What had been a full on make-out session steadily slowed down to light pecks and finally, heavy breathing.

_**Holy. Fucking. Shit.**_

"_I take it all back, big guy. When you decide to balance your karma you do it in a big way."_

Sam looked up at me, and I saw all the vulnerability of a girl who didn't think she was worthy of anyone's love displayed in those eyes. And it broke my heart. I pulled her tightly against my chest and buried my head in her hair as she put her ear over my heart. God, I hadn't realized how much I missed the smell of her after just one night.

"I'm sorry Sam," I said sincerely.

"I know," she told me, grabbing a fistful of my shirt like she was trying to keep me from running away.

"That was amazing…_You're_ amazing." I knew she needed to hear it, but it helped that I meant every word to the core of my being.

"It was just a kiss, dork," she deflected, but I could feel her smile against my chest.

"No," I shook my head, "It wasn't."

We stood there in comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying each other's presence. But there was one question nagging at me on the edge of my mind and I had to ask it.

"Hey Sam…"

"Hmm?" she mumbled.

"If the slap was for being an ass, what was the kiss for?"

She looked up at me and smiled the first real smile I had seen from her in months. Oh yeah, it was a good day.

**A/N:** A huge effing chapter! And just think, I didn't even get everything in there that I wanted to, but there was still plenty going on. I'm pretty proud of myself for this one kids, not only did I sit down and brainstorm out several huge plot points, but I got it all written out in record time…well for me. I actually wrote the first half of this chapter maybe two days after posting the previous two and pulled the SCUDlefish joke out of my ass, only to discover days later that in the iCarly universe there is actually a famous band called Cuddlefish. Which, in my eyes, just made it soooooo much better. Akhmin Petbe will play an important role later on so I hope you all are at least intrigued by him. If you aren't now, you will be soon. As always, please review. Oh, and send a thank you note to madam angst for her continuing support and general badassery. You, madam, are the best.

**Author Challenge!: **Akhmin Petbe's name has a hidden meaning for a very specific reason. If you can figure out who/what he was named after than I will reward you handsomely…or haggishly if you prefer. The first three people to unveil the secret behind his name get one of the following:

3rd Place: Any one question about the story or its plot answered

2nd Place: A small cameo in a future chapter

1st Place: The right to make as many story suggestions to me as they would like via PM. Temper this with the knowledge that I can reject any of them freely and without reason or pause for thought.

I spent so much time deciding on his name that I couldn't stand the thought of no one understanding it. Really all you're doing is stroking my ego but at least you get something in return. PM me your guess or post it in a review, either way I will read it. The game is afoot…or ahand…who can keep track these days?


	4. Woe

**A/N: **So this update took a little longer, but hopefully it will be worth the wait. This will pick up immediately where the last chapter left off and to keep you all fresh I will include the last bit of chapter 3 so you don't have to flip back and read it. Aren't I a nice guy? This is going to be shorter, but pretty balls to the walls if you know what I mean…and no that wasn't a euphemism. I will be announcing the contest winners at the end of the chapter so stay tuned. So without further ado, chapter 4…

**Woe**

**{[…Freddie's P.O.V…]}**

Sam looked up at me, and I saw all the vulnerability of a girl who didn't think she was worthy of anyone's love displayed in those eyes. And it broke my heart. I pulled her tightly against my chest and buried my head in her hair as she put her ear over my heart. God, I hadn't realized how much I missed the smell of her after just one night.

"I'm sorry Sam," I said sincerely.

"I know," she told me, grabbing a fistful of my shirt like she was trying to keep me from running away.

"That was amazing…_You're_ amazing." I knew she needed to hear it, but it helped that I meant every word to the core of my being.

"It was just a kiss, dork," she deflected, but I could feel her smile against my chest.

"No," I shook my head, "It wasn't."

We stood there in comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying each other's presence. But there was one question nagging at me on the edge of my mind and I had to ask it.

"Hey Sam…"

"Hmm?" she mumbled.

"If the slap was for being an ass, what was the kiss for?"

She looked up at me and smiled the first real smile I had seen from her in months. Oh yeah, it was a good day. She opened her mouth to answer but we were cut off by my phone ringing. I looked at Sam and she nodded her head, letting me know she wouldn't be upset if I checked to see who it was. I pulled the PearPhone out and my brow knit in confusion. It was Akhmin. I weighed the options in my head for a moment before deciding that what was happening right now was more important than whatever he was calling about. He would leave a message if he really needed me. Pocketing the phone I turned back to the blonde haired angel in my arms.

"So," I started "you wer-" another phone went off, ending my sentence.

Sam pulled her phone from her pocket looking about as irritated as I felt. She looked at the caller ID and her look of disdain quickly shifted to one of deadly seriousness. Of course the universe couldn't let me be happy for more than five minutes at a time. That could end life as we know it. She answered the phone with a quick greeting and remained silent as she listened to whoever was on the other line. Was my mind playing tricks on me or did Sam just say something about a gun? Hanging up without a goodbye she looked to me and I could tell the moment was about as dead as dead could get. This was not good.

"We need to go now," she said.

I swallowed once at the intensity in her eyes, reflecting silently on how quickly it had changed from passion to something else.

"What's going on Sam? Who was that?" I managed to keep most of the rising panic out of my voice, but I'll admit she was starting to freak me out. This was how Hollywood action flicks started. A random call from some unknown guy while you're in the office and the next thing you know your climbing out a window running from some guys in suits…ok, so maybe I had seen The Matrix one time too many, but still. Sam sighed heavily at the bewildered look on my face.

"It was Detective Petbe," she said solemnly.

I opened my mouth to let loose with a barrage of question, but she silenced me with a gesture and a look that made my blood run cold. This wasn't _kissy time_ Sam, this was _survival mode_ Sam. I had only seen her like this a handful of times, usually when she would show up at Carly's in the middle of the night, on foot, with no bag. I shut the fuck up. She softened her demeanor a bit before looking directly into my eyes.

"Freddie, I need you to do two things for me ok?" I nodded and she smiled. "Things are gonna get weird for the next couple of hours so first I'm going to need you to trust me. Ok?"

"Of course I trust you Sam, but-" she put a finger to my lips, silencing me.

"Trusting me means no questions right now." I could tell by her tone she was deadly serious as she continued. "I will answer them all when I can, but it can't be right now. Deal?" I nodded my acquiescence. "Second, I'm gonna need you to bring back the sexy-as-hell, rugged, no-nonsense Freddie that almost hit me with a bat last night. Can you do that for me?" she was almost pleading by the end.

I smiled crookedly and gave her my best smolder. "You think me almost giving you a concussion is sexy?" I asked. "Have I mentioned recently how amazing you are?"

"I'm gonna take that as a yes on trusting me." She responded around a grin of her own. "We need to get over to your apartment quickly and quietly. So follow me and try not to be a clumsy nub for once."

Before I could respond her grim mask was back up and she darted into Carly's apartment, leaving me with no option but to follow. We strode quickly through the living room, pausing only so she could snap a piece of pipe off of a sculpture hanging from the ceiling. I saw Sam look down at the broken edge, noticing that it was now jagged and she smiled to herself. Ok, freaky, but also kind of hot. I locked my feelings on the situation in a dark corner of my mind to deal with later. Right now I was "Freddie the Lumberjack" or some other equally manly version of myself. Wow, it was hard to stay focused when your mind ran a mile a minute and your dream girl's ass was bobbing enticingly right in front of you.

We reached the front door and she stopped to peer through the peephole. Satisfied that there was no one directly in front of our exit route she cracked the door just enough to get a good look down the hallway. Sticking her head out she looked both ways before finally signaling me to follow her. We dashed across the hall to my house and, taking my keys, she undid all of the locks with a manual dexterity that was as shocking as it was impressive. In moments we were inside, the door locked again behind us.

"Go get your duffle bag and cram as many essentials into it as quickly as you can," she told me while she checked out the windows.

"And leave you out here alone? No way. I don't know what's going on, but I know it's dangerous!" I set my jaw, fully prepared to be stubborn as hell.

"You really took that sexy, manly Freddie thing to heart didn't you? Mamma like." She eyed me up and down and I blushed, effectively destroying any masculinity I had built up to that point.

"I'm just going to pack up some food and then I will be right behind you." I gave her a skeptical look. "Promise," she assured me. "Now go, you're wasting time!" she said as she shooed me down the hall.

I dashed down the hall top speed, driven more by the potential risk to Sam's person than my own. It was funny how after one kiss I already felt like we belonged together. Or maybe I had always felt that way, but had locked the emotions up, afraid that they would never be returned. The two of us really needed to have a chat when there wasn't a huge, mysterious threat looming over the horizon like some kind cock-blocking giant. I grabbed the bag I used for overnight visits with family and friends and began piling everything I thought I even might need into it.

"_Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it," _my mother's voice rang in my head. My heart gave a painful twinge at the memory of her voice. That wound was still fresh, current events acting like a Band-Aid over the wound. Covering it, making it easier to ignore, but never really healing.

I resumed my packing with fervor, hoping the work would push the thought out of my head. I tossed in clothes, toiletries, a book, charge cords, my PearBook and, after a brief moment of hesitation, a condom that Spencer had forced on me after we had "the talk."

It had been one of the most awkward moments of my life. When he had given me the little foil pack, I was pretty convinced he had lost his mind. I mean honestly, the man knew every detail of my love life, or the lack thereof. I couldn't imagine needing a contraceptive without having any contra to cept. He, however, had insisted the day would come and the last couple of hours made him seem far wiser than I gave him credit for at the time.

The last of my items safely stowed, I threw the bag over one shoulder and marched out into the living room. Sam was waiting patiently with a large bag of her own in hand. I assumed it contained the food she had mentioned going after earlier and once again I was struck with the urge to ask her just what the hell was going on here. She must have seem the conflict in my eyes because she sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day and set her pack on the floor gently.

She walked forward tentatively, unsure of herself and where the two of us stood right at the moment. Peeking up at me through her golden tresses she bit her lip in the same adorable way she always did when she knew that she had to talk about "feelings and all that other sissy shit" as she so eloquently put it.

"Listen," she said softly, looking directly into my eyes "we have enough time for me to tell you what's going on, but not enough for me to answer questions. Is that enough for now?"

The ways she said it sounded more like _"Are we enough for now? Do you still believe in this?" _I nodded my head in response to both the spoken and unspoken questions. She grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled my lips down to hers, crushing me against her. The kiss was desperate and greedy. She was searching for something and I didn't know what it was, so I just gave her everything I had. The tempo of her mouth against mine was increasing at an alarming rate and just when it seemed we had reached our crescendo she pushed me back again, breathing heavily into the space between us.

"Sorry," she murmured, still gripping my shirt "I needed something to calm me down."

"Do I do that?" I couldn't help my mouth twisting up into a self-satisfied smirk as my eyes tried to burn holes into hers.

"I said no questions," she punched me in the chest "but yes."

She saw the ridiculous grin on my face and rolled her eyes disparagingly.

"Don't get too excited Casanova, I can get the same effect from a Christmas ham."

I laughed, filling in the time she needed to bring her walls back up and prepare herself for what she needed to say. This was how we worked now, in tandem, in sync, it felt good. Before I knew it, Samantha was gone and Sam Pucket was back. It was time to get some answers.

"Remember last year when I said I was doing a "school to work" program?" I nodded. "Well that was only half true. I was working, but it wasn't exactly school sanctioned. I just rearranged my schedule so I would have some empty periods." She paused, gathering her courage. "About a year ago something happened to me…something bad. I was framed for something I didn't do to take the heat off of some prick with way too much money. If he took the fall for what he did then he would have gotten kicked out of the university that mommy and daddy dearest had bribed him into. So, they did what wealthy bastards who think they are above the law do; they made it someone else's problem. They falsified events, destroyed evidence, and basically did everything except put a huge sign on my back that said "She Done It."

She stopped here, seething with barely-suppressed rage at the memories she was reliving. I realized that it was my insistence that had caused her to go back to that place and I wanted desperately to tell her to stop, that it didn't matter, but I knew she wouldn't hear me. She was in her own world now, her own personal hell. I swallowed the rising lump in my throat and listened intently to what came next.

"They made one crucial mistake though. They didn't want this going public and tarnishing their reputation, so they hired a private detective. Only the best for their precious son, of course. So Akhmin Petbe was put on the case, but they realized too late that he didn't give two shits about their money or their political power. All he wanted was the truth and no bribe would change that. So they fired him, but he kept digging, because that's who he is, The Ghost Killer. Eventually he showed up at my door, gave me a way out and saved me from prison or worse. I had never seen anyone screw the upper-class like that. I was completely enthralled by his strength. He had effortlessly accomplished in two weeks the kind of damage I had been trying to cause my whole life, and done it within the law."

She grinned, happy and bordering on maniacal. It was the bittersweet taste of seeing someone you hated brought as low as they had brought you. If anything this story was only leaving me with more questions, but I knew there was a time and a place for those. She needed to get this out as much as I needed to hear it. She continued.

"He had saved me, but only for so long. The thing about people who are used to winning is they don't know how to lose graciously. The way Detective Petbe saw it, they would be out to get me again soon."

She must have seen my eyes widen in fear because she shook her head to ease my concerns.

"Not a hit-man or anything so _crude,_" she said the word with an air of disdain, clearly mocking the family in question. "It would be subtle, but no less painful. They bought my family's house, evicted us, and tore it down. I was followed by the police everywhere I went, pulled over for anything and everything, from littering to jaywalking. So he offered to teach me how to defend myself against them. To fight back in ways they couldn't see coming or stop. He gave me a job and set me up in a rent controlled apartment since he knew how bad my home life was. He knew everything. He always does."

"So…when you said you were out at a job the school had set you up with, you were really working for Akhmin?" I said it slowly. Only fully realizing the weight of the situation as the words left my mouth. She nodded. "Sam, that's awful," I stepped forward to wrap her up in a hug, but she put a hand to my chest stopping me.

"No," she stated simply. My arms dropped uselessly to my sides. "Someday I'll tell you the whole story Freddie," she promised "but I can't right now. It took a long time for me to put those walls up and when I bring them back down it won't be pretty. I can't do that now." A couple tears fell from the corner of her gorgeous blue eyes, but she pretended they weren't there, so I did too. I clenched my fists at my sides and took a step back, giving her the space she needed, but ripping my own heart with the sharp stab of her suffering.

"I don't understand though," I told her, all business now. "What does that have to do with this? Are they after you now?"

She shook her head, slowly, in a way that told me she did not want to tell me this, but she knew she had to.

"Since I work for Detective Petbe, I help him with his cases. Including your mom's," she looked at me pointedly.

I took a deep breath, suppressing the absurd rush of anger I felt at the knowledge that she had hid knowledge of my mother's murder from me. It wasn't her fault, it was her job, but it still stung. When I didn't say anything, she continued.

"We've been tracking down the killer for a long time, but the deeper we have to dig; the harder it is to fly below their radar. Jesus found out what we were up to and devised a surprisingly clever plan. He sent word to his men to tell us just the right pieces of information to make us think we were on to something. Once we had enough info to bring back, they tailed Detective Petbe all the way to you, the punk who was causing them trouble. The one who wouldn't stop asking questions. The only person involved they couldn't bribe or stop. You've gotten too close Freddie and now they want you silenced." She swallowed heavily. "Permanently."

I could tell she was watching me warily, waiting for my response to the news that there was an organized team of professional felons out for my head, but there wasn't anything for me to give away. I felt surprisingly calm. I was coping with this the same way I had with my mother's death. I took the emotions I couldn't process or deal with and I put them in a box in a deep dark corner of my mind. Someday I would have to open that box, but that day wasn't today.

Right then I was cool, I was collected, I was very much not myself and, admittedly, loving it. It felt good to know I could handle a crisis as extreme as this one, to know that when the chips were down, I could keep a level head. Even if somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that as soon as it all got quiet, I was probably going to lose my shit.

"Ok," I nodded to Sam, "what do we do?"

She looked at me for a long time. Trying to find out how much of my collected demeanor was an act, but seemed to accept it all at face value for the time being, much to my relief. If she had pushed the subject too much, my tenuous grip on sanity may have collapsed. Finally deciding I wasn't going to come undone at an inopportune moment, she nodded once to herself and shouldered the bag of supplies she had dropped at her feet.

"Follow me and stay quiet. We are going to meet Petbe downstairs. Take this," she stopped to toss me the bat. I felt safer with the familiar weight in my hands. "Once we go through that door we don't talk until we find him. They could be here now. Ready?"

My face was set in what I hoped was grim determination. I tightened my grip on the bat and adjusted the bag straps, keeping my movement unrestricted and weight balanced in case of a fight or a run.

"Let's do this," I told her, my voice low.

She eyed me up and down in the same appreciative way she had the night before. Clearly, I needed to take up baseball…or street fighting. She checked the peephole and the hall before signaling for me to follow her into the hall quietly. I tried to match Sam's walk, hurried, but nonchalant and I'm fairly sure only succeeded in making an ass out of myself. We reached the elevators and she kept watch while I hit the down button. The lights above the door lit up, of course the car we got was on the first floor, it just wouldn't be a day in the life of Freddie Benson if you didn't get screwed at least once every hour. Every second that ticked by, the tension in the hall ratcheted up another notch. I was so nervous I was starting to sweat, but Sam seemed completely collected. I marveled at her ability to stay calm under the circumstances, but considering how much trouble she has gotten into previously, I guess it wasn't especially surprising.

The elevator _dinged! _signaling that it had reached our floor and I jumped 3 feet straight up. Sam laughed at the look on my face and I couldn't help but crack a smile myself.

_God she's so beautiful when she smiles._

I realized that half of the tension I had been feeling was a result of seeing her so tense. Anything that could make Sam afraid had to be serious. I held my hand out toward her and she took it, giving me a reassuring squeeze. We faced the doors together as they slid open, revealing two men in sunglasses and pristine suits.

They looked at us.

We looked at them.

Sam dropped my hand.

They dropped a photo.

I saw my face on the floor.

They saw the bat in my hand.

They pulled a gun on us.

I pulled her away from them.

Two shots rang out.

I blacked out.

…Maybe it wasn't such a good day after all.

**A/N: **And now to announce the winners!

**First place** goes to everythingthatsparkles12! Congratulations, you have earned the right to make any creative story suggestions you please. Just PM me with something you think should happen, or just think would be cool. I reserve the right to completely ignore you, but if its good it will make its way into the story for sure.

**Second Place** goes to my lovely editor icarlyangst. She figured it out on her own, honest, she is just a smart lady. She has earned herself a cameo in the story at a point still to be determined.

**Third Place** is the property of AxBeautifulxDisaster. You may ask me any one question about the story which I have to answer honestly and to the best of my abilities. Think carefully before asking. You could unravel the whole mystery with the right inquiry.

Admittedly this is not where or how I planned to end the chapter at all, but it worked out so well I just couldn't help myself. Did you guys know that you can review each chapter individually? Me either. Amazing right? *Hint hint* This chapter was short, but intense and I really like it that way, even if I didn't get as much into it as I had planned. The next chapter will introduce a very interesting dynamic to the story. I'm as curious to see how it affects our intrepid duo as you all are. Until next time my friends. As always, hope you enjoyed it.

Apologies from the Beta. I was swamped with real life, but this guy really had it done a crazy long time ago. My bad! –iCarlyAngst

See, it wasn't my fault for once :P but it's a damn good thing she edited it because it was probably 25% red text when I got it back. Some of it didn't even make sense to me and I wrote it lol


	5. Chia Like, I Shall Grow

**A/N:** So potentially a couple of cameos in this chapter. One planned and one I made up on the fly. The updates have been slow, but life has been interesting so it's been taking up more of my attention. Honestly I'm so ADD I forget I'm supposed to be writing a story so let's all give a round of applause to Virgoleo23, her review reminded me that this has been sitting on my laptop gathering dust. This chapter is going to be intense. Although I'm not really sure I can say that when it's just the normal speed of the story at this point. Why slow down when you can speed up? Sonic the Hedgehog has taught me so many important life lessons. This will be the first and possibly only time that the story is told from Sam's point of view. She and I are very similar so I think I did an ok job. You guys will have to let me know what you think. I feel that this is really Freddie's story to tell, but Sam is there the whole way. It would be remiss of me not to let her give a bit of her own insight on the proceedings. Ok, so I know you're all reading this and screaming "JUST GET ON TO THE STORY YOU CLIFFHANGING $%#&^*" so without further ado, chapter 5…

**Chia-Like, I Shall Grow**

**Sam's P.O.V**

The doors to the elevator opened and the air left me as I saw the two men standing inside. I assessed the threat more out of habit than necessity; it was pretty obvious that they were dangerous. The thugs were huge, easily over six feet, each with barrel chests almost a span wide. They appeared to be of Latino decent, Jesus' men for sure. As the four of us noticed each other, things started to move in slow motion. Thug one looked at a tiny photo he was gripping in his meaty hand and then up at Freddie, recognition dawning on his face. One grunt communicated his discovery to thug number two and they both stuck a hand into their nondescript black suit jackets almost in unison. I fought hard against my rising panic. Freddie was in danger, well I was in danger too, but somehow that seemed less important. I needed to do something, anything, to get him out of the here, but the clever little dweeb beat me to it.

As I turned to face him I felt a hand come into contact with my shoulder, hard. When had nerdy little Fredweird got so damn strong! I fell through the air for what felt like ages, thoughts whirling through my head the whole way down. He had pushed me, the little shit, and god it made me fall for him all over again…pun not intended. It meant he had been more concerned with my safety than his own, it meant he cared about me. That one shove said more to me than all the sweet nothings in the world…and I wanted to kill him for it. Well…if he didn't die right now. Let it never be said that Samantha Pucket isn't pragmatic. I hit the ground and it hit back, knocking the wind out of me and preventing me from getting up right away. Dimly, I heard the sound of a gun cocking and my blood went cold. The shot rang out, and I swear to whatever passes for a god in this fucked up world that I_ felt_ my heart break. All at once, time sped back up.

Freddie screamed like a wounded beast and a spray of blood decorated the wall in front of him. He teetered slightly on his feet, swaying dangerously left and right. Somehow he managed to face me without falling and when he saw me he smiled, that same infuriating smirk he always gave me when he knew he had won. I could almost hear him saying "Saved you first Pucket." Then the second shot went off, and he hit the ground like a crumbling wall. I had never gotten the term "Screamed bloody murder" before, but now nothing else seemed to fit the circumstance quite as well. It was like my soul had given up and decided to leave my body in one big bloodcurdling rush. Then the tears hit. I cried for the first time in years and evidently I was determined to make up for lost time. My vision blurred and I tried to wipe my eyes dry as I rose to my feet. There were still two men with guns to take care of. The same two men that had murdered the only man I ever loved without so much as batting an eyelash.

I tightened my grip on the bat, pressing myself against the wall and preparing for what was to come. I was outnumbered and outgunned; my only hope was the element of surprise. I took a few quick breaths, steadying my nerves before quickly rounding into the elevator car. I swung the bat where I knew one of the two men would be standing, determined to take at least one of them down with me, but all I hit was empty air and, eventually, the wall. I looked around confused and finally found thug one and thug two at my feet, marinating in delicious puddle of their own blood and an assorted mix of gray matter and guts. I didn't have time to think about the implications as I heard footsteps coming up behind me. I acted like I hadn't noticed them, gauging the newcomers distance, letting him think he had the upper hand. Once I was sure he was within striking distance, I brought the bat around as hard and fast as I could, aiming for what I hoped was the fuckers head.

A gloved hand shot out faster than I could follow and caught the aluminum club in mid-air. I released the handle of my now useless weapon and dropped into a fighting stance, unwilling to give up, but a familiar raspy chuckle brought my attention to the face of my attacker.

"Detective Petbe?" my voice was incredulous. This was rapidly becoming more than I could handle in such a short span of time. All I wanted to do was curl up on the couch with Freddie and a whole honey ham for a couple of hours and forget all of this.

"Hello Sam. Glad to see all of those self-defense lessons I gave you didn't go to waste." He spoke in the same calm, gravelly, hushed tone that he always did. As if this was just any other Tuesday for him.

"Sir, Freddie he-I…I couldn't protect him," my voice got weaker the further into the sentence I got. At the end I had to fight hard to keep myself from bursting into tears.

I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder and was surprised to see it attached to the jacketed man in front of me. Akhmin Petbe was not a man of compassion, but his eyes were soft and concerned when they met mine. His kindness almost broke me.

"He's gonna be fine bombshell, come see for yourself."

The use of my nickname calmed me slightly and having the word of a man I trusted that Freddie was safe gave me back a small glimmer of hope. Before the detective could even turn, I was at Freddie's side, gingerly checking his wounds. He was sticky with blood and the sight of him in such a wounded and vulnerable state made me want to vomit. He had been shot, no doubt about that, but it seemed to have passed through his shoulder on the left side, under the bone and above the heart, passing straight through and most likely, into one of our assailants.

Akhmin locked the elevator in place before walking to my side. He took off his belt before kneeling down next to me.

"We need to stop the bleeding" he spoke as if mending a bullet wound was an everyday occurrence. For the Ghost Killer, maybe it was. "I'm going to use this to slow the bleeding," he told me, holding up the belt. "Do you have anything in those bags we can use as a bandage?"

Without hesitation or thought I started tearing at the lower half of my shirt. Ripping it into one long strip of cloth and exposing my midriff up to the bellybutton. The shirt was ruined anyway, everything I was wearing was; it was all soaked with Freddie's blood. I wouldn't wear any of it even if I could get the stains out, it was tainted now. The detective grunted softly, his version of mild astonishment.

"You must really like the kid," he grumbled, tightening the belt around Freddie's shoulder to slow the circulation.

"What gave me away?" I asked sarcastically. Normally that kind of admission would have embarrassed me, but Freddie had literally just taken a bullet for me. I figured the least I could do was publicly admit I had feelings for him. I had a few other ideas of how to pay him back I thought he might like more.

"That was a hell of a shot," I told Akhmin with genuine admiration. I wrapped the hole in question with my makeshift bandage.

He replied in an intense whisper. "No. A hell of a shot wouldn't have put his life in danger, but I was out of options. No time to worry about it now."

I considered saying something comforting, but the man was all cold blood and brass tacks, comfort wasn't really the way we conducted business. Thankfully Freddie chose that exact moment to wake up, saving Akhmin and I from a potentially awkward moment.

My brown haired hero groaned and rolled his head a bit before his eyes fluttered open. They were out of focus for a moment before locking onto my face. His mouth twisted up into an involuntary smile that melted my heart. I really needed to work on resisting his charms. At this rate I would be putty in his hands by the week's end.

His voice was rough when he spoke. "If we're both dead because you wasted my heroics on some futile attempt at revenge I'm totally gonna kick your ass".

I laughed. I couldn't help it. All of the tension and anxiety of the moment just burst at the same time, he was ok and that meant that I was ok. We could still do this. Akhmin leaned over my shoulder and into Freddie's field of vision.

Freddie groaned. "Oh god. Akhmin's here? Are we in hell?"

"If you're well enough to make jokes, you're well enough to walk," the older man said, rising to his feet. "We have to move." He extended a hand down toward the floor and slowly helped Freddie up by pulling on his good arm. Freddie tried to push himself up using his left hand and screamed out in pain, dropping back down.

"You're not gonna want to use that for a while kid" Akhmin told him. Freddie nodded his agreement.

As soon as Freddie was back on his feet Akhmin took charge of the situation.

"Here's the plan," he told us. "You two need to make yourselves scarce." He paused here to look directly at me. "You're going to take him to the safe house Sam."

"The Safe house?" I yelled. "He is injured! I need to get him to a hospital!"

Akhmin's voice took on a dangerous tone. "I realize you like the boy, _Samantha," _he used my full name to get my goat and my attention. It worked on both counts. "But think about who we are dealing with. Stop letting your feelings govern your actions and think about the situation like I taught you to."

If anyone else had spoken to me like that I would have knocked them flat, but a combination of respect and fear kept me at bay. I was seething, but I did what he told me to and stopped to consider the circumstances. We were going head to head with one of the most powerful men on the west coast. He would have contacts in the hospitals; they would alert him as soon as Freddie was checked in. Then he would know where we were and be able to get at us with little to no effort at all. It would be easy for him to pay off a nurse to administer Freddie a "sedative" he would never wake up from. Akhmin was right and it just made me angrier, but I had more important things to focus on. Like protecting the man I loved.

"Fine," I ground out, "The safe house. How are we going to get there? And what are we going to do about these bodies?"

"Not we," Akhmin said seriously, "you and me, separately. You are going to take the black sedan parked on the left side of the lot downstairs and get the hell out of here." As he spoke he handed me a set of keys. "Then I'm going to stay here and deal with the police. The bullets were fired from my gun and there is no evidence you were here aside from some blood, and that's everywhere already, I doubt they will notice a little more. I will get in contact with you through a third party courier. Do you still remember the pass phrase?" I nodded. "Good. Take this and go."

He pulled a shiny metal object from his jacket and handed it to me. I smiled feeling the familiar weight in my hand.

"What is that?" Freddie asked, incredulous.

"This," I said, cocking the pistol, "is Delilah. She's a .45 caliber, 1991, Colt Double Eagle Full Size and one hell of a tramp. She gets herself involved with all kinds of bad boys." I gave Freddie a wicked smile as I held my gun reverently. I almost felt sorry for whichever street tough drew the short straw to come after us next…almost. I double checked that the safety was on before pulling the magazine out. Satisfied that the 8 round clip was full I popped it back in and yanked the slide back, loading one bullet into the chamber, before sticking the gun in the back of my jeans. Reflexively I went to pull my shirt down to conceal it, but quickly realized half of the article of clothing was still missing.

Freddie whistled a few feet away from me. "If I hadn't lost so much blood, I would be all over you right now."

I looked at him a little bashfully. He was leaning against the wall, his mouth twisted up in a hungry grin as his eyes roamed over my body. It made me feel a little self-conscious and _REALLY_ sexy. I wasn't used to be wanted like that and I decided right away that I liked it. I had pledged to go over there and give him something to grin about when our moment was interrupted by the loud clearing of a throat behind us. Damn Freddie and his incredibly hot, mind altering smirks. I just couldn't focus around him.

"I'll give you a closer look later," I told him with a wink, leaving it perfectly unclear whether I was talking about the gun or myself. His grin widened.

"I think it's about time you two left," Akhmin said, sounding fully un-entertained by our antics. I grabbed Freddie by the arm and started down the hall towards another elevator, but only managed a few steps before I stopped.

"Thank you Akhmin," I told him sincerely. I didn't turn around. I knew if I could see him right now I might cry. "Thanks for everything." My eyes were getting all watery. Gah! Stupid fucking girl emotions.

If I didn't know any better I would say his voice was affectionate when he replied, "Anytime bombshell. You've earned a couple freebies at this point."

Alright. That was my "touching moment" quota for the month. It was time to put the mask back on. Time to become Sam the Mighty. Time to fuck up anyone and everyone who got in my way. Time to protect Freddie at the cost of someone else's life if need be. Oh yea, I was ready.

"Let's go," I told Freddie. I yanked him none-too-gently down the hall and towards the parking lot, towards safety.

**Freddie's P.O.V.**

This whole "waking up in excruciating pain" thing was getting really old, really fast. I did my best to hold back a groan as I bumped my wounded arm into the rearview mirror of a hummer. Who even drove those things anymore? It's not 2001 people. Get a hybrid like everyone else. I was getting cranky from the pain, but I was also getting woozy from the blood loss so I figured Sam would probably forgive me if I snapped at her later. She had put on her tough girl face again so I knew talking to her wasn't the best plan. I wasn't going to be any good in a fight right now so I just needed to let her do her thing and get us the hell out of dodge.

Oh and before I forget, what the fucking hell! Sam owns a gun? Akhmin Petbe has an affectionate nickname for her? She knows the pass phrase AND the location of the safe house! It's a good thing I didn't have enough blood to think or my head might have been exploding right now. An image of Sam cocking her pistol came into my mind and every other thought was immediately burned up in the wake of her hotness. I would looooove to let her cock my pistol…er…pistol my cock? Something like that. I wondered idly if low blood pressure would give me performance issues. Based on the situation in my pants right now I was going to assume not.

"…Freddie!" Sam shouted in my face.

"What?" I responded. Confused and a little ticked she had pulled me from my happy place.

She looked concerned as she replied. "I've been saying your name for the last half a minute but you weren't responding. I was starting to think you were going catatonic on me." I felt a little guilty for checking out on her like that.

"Sorry," I told her earnestly, "I'm fine though really, just a little distracted." She nodded her understanding and gestured to a sedan in front of us.

"This is the getaway car," she told me. The car beeped softly when she hit a button on the key ring to unlock it. "Get in and try not to bleed too much."

"No promises," I tried to smile at my joke, but couldn't find enough humor in the hole that had taken up residence on my shoulder to pull it off, so it turned into more of a grimace.

"I'll hurry babe," she promised, opening her own door,"there are pain killers and medical supplies at the safe house."

Mmmmmmmmm…pain meds. Normally I hated losing control of my mental faculties, but at the rate the fire in my shoulder was spreading I would take pretty anything to ease the pain.

"Did you just call me babe?" I asked her as I climbed into the passenger seat.

She turned to look at me, meeting my smile with one of the most awkward looks I've ever seen in my life. Clearly she was trying to fight embarrassment and from the reddening in her cheeks I guessed she had brought a knife to that gun fight.

"Shit happens," she said with a not-so-nonchalant shrug.

"Sure does, beautiful," I replied.

She looked at me and we both smiled. I put my hand over hers on the stick shift as she jammed the car into reverse, peeling out of the lot with a speed and agility that was impressive, but at this point, not surprising. Sam was full of secrets and hidden talents and I looked forwarding to discovering them all. I leaned over gingerly and kissed her on the neck, she gave me a soft moan of approval.

"Save it for the safe house Romeo," she scolded unconvincingly, "the bed there is huge."

I smiled to myself and leaned my head against the window. The warmth of her hand against mine was comforting and I drew some much needed strength from it. Now that the immediate danger was over the adrenaline was wearing off and I was rapidly becoming exhausted. I knew I shouldn't probably fall asleep until we had reached our destination so I distracted myself by watching the ocean out my window. Thoughts of Sam on a king sized bed in that torn shirt and not much else filled my mind. The sheer volume of lascivious thoughts in my mind today was staggering. I remembered reading somewhere that near death experiences had a libido boosting affect. At the time I had thought it sounded ridiculous, I mean there couldn't possibly be anything sexy about almost dying. But the effects on the two of us were undeniable…maybe I should get shot more often.

It was a strange kind of contrast to go from fighting to your life to a relaxing summer drive down the coast with your new girlfriend. Generic alternative rock played on the radio as Sam hit speeds that would have concerned me on a normal day. But hey, I had just survived a gunshot wound and an attempt on my life ordered by a drug lord. It was like a bad action movie and I was the star. Ok, so maybe Sam was the action-star and I was the target and/or love interest, but I was good with that.

Time started to lose meaning. Everything was starting to take on kind of a fuzzy haze. The bleeding in my arm had slowed to a trickle, but I was pretty sure that was because I was running out more than anything else. God I was tired. I was about to give up and take a nap when Sam's breakneck pace slowed.

"We're there," she told me, pulling into a driveway.

Looking around for the first time in a while I noticed that our surrounding had transitioned from scenic seaside vistas to rural mountain gravel road. I imagine a normal person would have looked at the house but at that moment I really couldn't give a fuck. I needed a shower, a Percocet and a nap, not necessarily in that order. Sam opened my door and reached in to help me out but I waved her off.

"I'm fine," I assured her.

With a little difficulty I rose unsteadily to my feet. Sam stood nearby at the ready in case I wasn't as fine as I thought I was. As it turned out that was a pretty good call. The world started swimming in front of me and I felt a now familiar rush of dizziness hit my head like a freight train.

"Not again," I growled.

I braced myself for the impact as well as my nearly gelatinous muscles would let me, but it never came.

"_I guess you aren't completely without mercy big guy," _I thought. And then I was out.

**A/N: **So let me start this by saying I promise that's the last time I end a chapter with Freddie blacking out lol it just seemed right somehow. Huzzah! This chapter actually didn't get as far as I thought it would, so you guys get some extra story out of the deal. In my mind everything inside the building got resolved quickly and most of the chapter took place in the safe house…which we barely made it to. Instead, fleshing out the relationship between Sam and Mr. Petbe became far more important. So here we are. I have most of the next chapter planned out in my mind cavity so hopefully it won't take me long to get done. In other news no one has claimed their prizes from the challenge, bummer for them. As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Review or I will cry and make you feel bad.

Aside from what seems like a personal aversion to commas, this chapter was PERFECT. Seriously…PERFECT. Can't wait for the next chapter!


	6. So Good

**A/N: **So I would like to give some perfectly legitimate excuse about why this was such a long time coming, but I don't really have one. So instead let me thank the people who stayed interested and messaged me or reviewed even after I had fallen off radar. I got those and they were a HUGE part of what motivated me to get back in here and get going again. This chapter ends sooner than I had originally planned, but ultimately, this felt like the right place to stop. There will be another, shorter, chapter soon. It will be a segue of sorts, followed by the second and last chapter in Sam's P.O.V. It will also signal the beginning of the end. We have 3-4 chapters before this is all over kids. Unless I add an epilogue. I had originally intended for there to be a filler chapter in here, but with everything that has happened and with you guys waiting so long for me to get my shit together I figured it's best to get the ball rolling. Speaking of balls, there are some exposed in this chapter so uh… **Sexual Content Warning! **I also forgot to tell you all that the songs the chapter titles are based on are also kind of the theme's for the chapter so ya know…feel free to listen to them while reading. All the songs are performed by the band Say Anything.

This has officially been beta'd, as always a huge thank you to icarlyangst

**So Good**

I woke up slowly and didn't even bother to brace for the phalanx of pain that stormed my gates. Waking up miserable was getting to be pretty routine at this point. I silently applauded myself for my ability to adjust to these completely off the wall situations. I was an unstoppable force of nature, if drug lords and guns couldn't bring me down nothing could.

"_What else ya got? Bring it you big bearded bastard!" _

Fortuitously it was at that exact moment that I noticed a pressure on my chest. Opening my eyes, I peered downward at the offensive weight, ready for anything…except what I found. I looked down and my eyes swept over the nearly endless expanse of curvaceous flesh laid out before me. My internal dialogue went something like this.

"_Ohsweetmotherofgod!_ _That's a Sam on me. A shirtless Sam, against my shirtlessness. Where are my pants? What happened to all the oxygen in this room? Breathe Freddie, breathe. Ok, priority one: don't freak out. Priority two: REALLY don't freak out."_

I imagine that someday, in hindsight, I will be a little ashamed of myself for how I reacted to waking up half naked in a scenario ripped straight from one of…ahem…alone time fantasies, but that day was not today. I had seemingly skipped two bases, dove headfirst into the deep-end and scored a touchdown. Damnit! I was so flustered even my sports metaphors weren't making any sense.

_Come on Freddie you're being ridiculous. You don't even know what happened, and the last thing you want is to look like an idiot in front of what may very well be the most beautiful creature you've ever laid eyes on. _

I had finally managed to drop my heart rate back down to a nonlethal level when a bird just outside the window gave a particularly load shriek, causing Sam to stir in her sleep. Every delicious inch of her undulated against me as she shifted herself in the bed, tightening the arm around my torso and pulling her body flush against my side. My heart rate tripled and it was pumping all of the blood in my body to one very specific place. I was getting lightheaded. Nothing was that soft, it just wasn't possible. It felt like electricity was dancing across my skin everywhere she was touching me. My whole right side started to tingle and the sensation traveled up my body to my brain, making it hard to think straight.

Everything in the room started to get a little hazy. It was like my entire thought process tunneled until there was nothing, but Sam. Why had I been so panicked a minute ago? Only an idiot would be worried about something this unbelievably fantastic. I wiggled my body a little bit, weary of my gunshot wound, so that I scooted down the comforter until I was face to face with the beautiful woman next to me. My face had become inadvertently buried in her golden tresses and I breathed deeply, taking in the wonderful smell that just seemed to emanate from her naturally. Good fucking god she was beautiful, especially in her sleep. All the stress and worry that she experienced during the day just melted right off leaving nothing behind but the personification of perfection. She was…gorgeous? Radiant? Awe inspiring? Bewitching? Exquisite? None of the adjectives I could summon seemed strong enough to describe what she inspired in me. I would have to invent a new word for it, she was just so…Sam.

I leaned in toward her ear, the air getting headier with each passing second, by the time I got to it I could barely piece together a sentence.

"Sam", I whispered. She didn't budge so I tried again a little louder. "Sam"…still nothing. I smiled a bit to myself before giving it a third attempt. "Samaaaantha."

She woke with a grimace and a groan, as I had predicted. No one called her Samantha and got away with it.

Her response came in a whisper, "You know that doesn't sound half bad when you say it."

I grinned from ear-to-ear and considered saying it a second time just to push my luck, but decided against it. I didn't want to do anything that had even a slight possibility of ruining the moment. Instead I leaned forward until my lips brushed against her ear whispering so that my breath would tickle her neck.

"Good morning," I told her. And for the first time in a while it actually was.

Being with Sam was always incredible for more reasons than I could keep track of, but my favorite by far was the feeling of "rightness" I got whenever she was around. It was like the trumpets could sound, signaling judgment day and the end of time itself and somehow as long as we were together everything would be ok. Corny I know, but hey, that's love.

"Yes it really is," she mumbled, mirroring my own thoughts.

She burrowed deeper into the mattress and my arms, until her head was resting on my chest. She gingerly placed a kiss on the gauze covering my shoulder before laying her head over my heart. The two of us just laid there for a few minutes, enjoying a comfortable silence and the relative peace of the moment. It was like the eye of the raging shit-storm that had become our lives in the last 48 hours.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"That I'm really glad this thing is still working," she tapped my chest over my heart to emphasize her point. "It was really touch-and-go there for a bit babe. I was worried."

"Worried!" I asked, my voice laden with mock incredulity. "A mere bullet cannot stop the mighty Fredward Benson! I was merely feigning injury to confuse our opponents."

She grunted her irritation and looked up into my eyes.

"If you weren't already injured I would hit you right now." Her tone left no doubt how serious she was.

I could feel my mouth twisting up into a roguish smirk and tried in vain to fight it. The bigger my smile got the more her frown deepened. I tried to stop myself, I really did, but she was so goddamn cute when she was pissed at me. I was terrified and endeared at the same time…it was a seriously weird sensation.

"It's not funny jackass. You almost died." The pain in her voice cut my mirth like a knife.

Her eyes were tearing up and she lowered her head back to my chest to hide it. I had just been so relieved to be alive when I woke up that I completely forgot that Sam had been through just as much as I had. More by some estimations. I had been so out of it I could barely remember half of what had gone down, but I was sickeningly sure that she remembered every detail. I knew she wasn't really angry at or blaming me, she was just upset, but I still felt like a tool. She had tensed up a little bit, but she hadn't pulled away. I wasn't sure if that was progress or Sam just being classically unwilling to move once she was comfortable. I took advantage of her position on my chest by running my fingers through her hair. It was just as soft and luxurious as the rest of her and I reveled in the feel. With each pass of my fingers over her scalp she relaxed a minute amount until she was almost purring under my ministrations.

"Babe?" I questioned softly.

All I got back was a muffled, "Hmmm?"

"What happened? Where are we?" They were questions I didn't want to ask, but I knew that I needed to.

Sam heaved a huge sigh. "You just couldn't be like every other guy on the planet and be satisfied that there is a hot, scantily clad, willing girl in your bed could you nerd? You just have to ruin the moment."

My eyes bugged out of my head and my face turned to her so fast I almost gave myself whiplash.

"Wait! Willing?" My voice cracked on the second word. Oh yeah, I'm a lady killer.

"Nope!" she exclaimed "You went asking questions so now I'm going to answer them. Maybe next time a girl makes it painfully obvious she wants your hands on her naughty bits you will pay attention."

I wanted to cry a little bit, but I wouldn't give her the satisfaction. This was all part of the dance. Sam and I would circle each other for hours, sometimes days, the tempo slowly rising until one or both of us surrendered to our urges. Back when we couldn't express ourselves how we wanted it almost always culminated in a fight. I was painfully curious how it would all end now that we were on to each other…literally and figuratively.

"If I were like every other guy on the planet you wouldn't like me so much." I was faking a level of confidence I wasn't feeling.

I had never wanted to give into her so badly. I had never wanted to _get into_ her so badly. Shit, I was losing blood that I needed to pay attention to what she was saying. It was being rapidly redirected to a part of me that was far more interested in how great her ass looked in the matching lacy red number she was wearing. I had never really thought of Sam as girly, but I was starting to find out she was all woman.

"Eyes up here," she said, snapping her fingers under my nose and gesturing towards her face.

"I made my choice!" I replied, only half in jest. I squinted even more intently at the cleavage she had just revealed by turning to face me.

She laughed one of the first real, unburdened laughs I had heard from her in days. I smiled in return as she pulled the blanket up, covering herself completely. I frowned and made a depressed noise in the back of my throat. She just shook her head at my antics.

"If I'm talking, you're paying attention," she said. I opened my mouth but she cut off my retort. "You're going to pay attention to what I'm _saying_. Not all this," she gestured down her body, "fabulous as it may be."

"Alright fine," I acquiesced, "but let's at least get comfortable. Turn over and let me into that blanket."

She surrendered to my demand and I snuggled up behind her, spooning against her back and marveling at how well the two of fit together.

"_Alright god, I'll admit it. This was worth being shot, but don't think this means we're cool."_

She sighed before speaking. "I'm not sure where to start. What do you remember?"

"Hmmmm…" I pondered aloud. "Pretty much everything after Akhmin got there, but before we got here. In fact most of the car ride is a little hazy, but I assume that wasn't too eventful. So I guess start from the beginning and then skip to the end."

"Wel,l we were out on the balcony and I was rocking your world-" I cut her off before she could finish.

"Oh trust me," I told her, trailing kisses down her neck, "I definitely remember that part. My world is still suffering from aftershocks."

She gave a soft moan of approval that set my heart racing and brought that numbing tingle back. The girl was like a drug, I couldn't ever get enough and there were a few adverse side effects to having her, but I still planned on being addicted by the day's end.

"It's reeaaaally hard to focus on telling a story when you're doing that," she said. Her voice was hoarse with what I hoped was lust and she tilted her head back to expose more of her neck to me. I decided took full advantage of what I was given, switching to nibbling lightly on her earlobe.

"I could stop if it would help," I offered. I stopped my exploration, but left my mouth poised over her skin enticingly, hoping that the feeling of my breath on her neck would drive her insane.

"Don't stop…" she pleaded.

Holy fucking mother of god. Sam never pleaded. And if she did it was for things like bacon or the answers to our math homework. I had no idea what I was doing, but it was working, so I decided to keep it up.

"Keep talking," I commanded. That's right, I _commanded_ Samantha Pucket. And that's not even the best part. She _listened._ I was a god amongst men.

"We got to the _MMmmm_elevator and when it _Ahh_rrived on our floor there were already two guys on it. They had guns and-_ohmygod_!" her sentence got largely incoherent for a bit at that point.

I had found a curious dip where her neck met her jaw and had decided to investigate more closely. Judging by how abruptly her recount had ended I assumed she approved. I could feel her pulse under my lips and suckled on the spot in question eliciting a moan from Sam that set my body on fire. I tamped the flames down forcibly, barely managing to keep myself under control. I wasn't ready to relinquish my hold over her. The game wasn't over, she hadn't given in yet.

She reigned herself in a bit and continued more calmly, but her voice sounded strained almost tortured. "You must have noticed the picture of you they had just before I did."

One of her arms snaked back and buried a hand in my hair. She gripped the brown locks tightly, pulling me forcibly against her and using my hair like reigns to guide my eager mouth wherever she wanted it. As my biting grew more insistent so did her tugs, my scalp started to tingle from her sharp, demanding yanks. It just added to the long list of things currently overwhelming my senses, Sam was filling my entire world, seeping into every crack and cranny until there wasn't room for anything else. She had started rotating her hips, grinding her deific ass against my groin. Something primal welled up inside me and took control for a moment. I growled, low and insistent, biting her neck hard enough to bruise her otherwise perfect skin. She moaned in a way that made the blood course through my veins so quickly I thought my heart might burst. It was a declaration of passion that transcended anything she could have conveyed with mere words. She continued the story, but if I'm honest I wasn't listening anymore.

"They realized that you were the-," her breath hitched as my hand burned a trail up the smooth plane of her stomach, cutting off her air and her sentence simultaneously. "-The person they were looking for and they pulled their guns to shoot us."

I have no idea who I became in those moments. I mean I was still myself, but I wasn't. I was self assured in a way I had never been before, I was nimble and judging by the noises she was making I was _good_. There weren't many places my hands hadn't been at this point so I made a return journey. My hands roamed over her shoulders and down her arms, kneading as they went, the air in the room got so heavy it took a lot of effort to breathe it. Every inch of her looked carved from alabaster, beautiful and powerful like the masterpiece carving of some ancient Greek goddess, but this goddess was real and she was _mine._ My hands continued their massaging strokes down her back and I decided to let my mouth follow as I went. Giving little love nips then smoothing them over with eager fingers. She shuddered and released a breath she must have been holding for a long time.

"You pushed me out of the way to save me," she whispered, but with none of the lust that her previous words had carried.

She had gone still, not rigid or rejecting, just…quiet. I fought through the fog that was clouding my brain, I was now concerned for her and in need of her in equal measure, but the gentleman in me won out and I wrapped my arms protectively around her. She squirmed around until she was facing me, looking me dead in the eyes. Her face was a jumbled pile of raw emotion, affection, anger, fear and above all incredulity.

"You could have died," she said.

"Yup," I agreed.

"But you didn't care," she accused.

"Nope," I confirmed.

"Why?" she asked.

I shrugged. The answer didn't come easily at first. I mulled the thought over for a bit, trying to figure out what the answer was and how best to convey it.

"I'm not sure," I told her honestly.

She waited patiently for me to continue. I tried very hard not to focus on the feeling of her lace clad breasts pressed against my chest or her incredible eyes mere inches from my face. I was pretty successful…ok 60/40.

"I guess," I paused again, trying to force my scattered thoughts into something cohesive, "I guess that in the spur of the moment I realized I had time to save me or you. I just decided that it was more important to me that you were safe than it was that I not get shot. I guess I figured I could die happy as long as you were ok." I finished with a sheepish smile and scanned her face for a reaction, there were a couple tense, sickening seconds where she remained unsettling still and then, all at once, she came alive.

Her passion rose up in her like a tidal wave and I was the rocks that it broke against. Grounding her, dispersing the sensations that had come over her, but still in the midst of the storm myself. I couldn't breathe, I didn't want to, or rather I didn't want air, I wanted her and from the way she was forcing her body against mine the feeling seemed mutual. She was breathing my air, stealing it for herself, taking me into her veins, possessing me and I gave myself to it, wanting nothing more than for this continue. To be hers, to be us.

The frantic movements of her mouth against mine traveled down the side of my mouth, along my jawline and continued down, her tongue laving across my chest soft in contrast to the hard nips she delivered directly afterward. I had never felt so completely flummoxed…probably because I had never even thought to use the word before. What the fuck was she doing to my mind? My breath hitched as her teeth grazed across my nipple. The attention stopped long enough for her to mutter something about me being the sexiest idiot who ever lived before her downward journey continued. I quickly did some math in my head and realized that at this rate she was going to be in my crotch region right, about…oh mother of god. I felt her lips moving across my skin just above the waistline of my boxers and my head flew back against the pillows.

I wanted desperately to see what she was going to do next but I couldn't seem to open my damn eyes. Evidently that wasn't going to work for Sam. She stopped what she was doing, I could still feel her hot breath against my skin and her fingers hooked in the waistband of my underwear, poised to tug them downwards. I regained a facsimile of my composure and cracked an eyelid to look down at her. Her Cheshire grin underlined the most pleased eyes I had even seen grace her face.

I said something sexy like "Wha-!" and her smile grew.

"Just wanted to make sure you knew who was down here before I kept going," she said. Her voice so laden with sultry I felt it drip off her lips and crawl up my spine, making me shiver slightly.

"As if I could forget," I sighed, but there was one nagging thought in the back of mind that I couldn't let go. "Sam…," I started lamely as usual, "you know you don't have to do this to thank me for saving you or…or whatever."

I averted my eyes from hers, embarrassed and praying to god that she wouldn't actually stop. Nails dug sharply into the soft skin of my lower stomach and I cried out in pain, turning my gaze back toward the forest of golden curls and mischief hovering over my now seriously painful and barely constrained erection.

"I'm not doing this to thank you Freddie, I'm doing this because I want to _TASTE_ you."

That. Was. Fucking. It.

My mind shut down in a flash of light leading to a blank slate. Like an old TV turning off in a dark room. For an indiscernible amount of time that I'm sure was nowhere near as long as I would have liked it to be I had no thoughts, my world was absolutely dominated by the things she was making me feel.

Her hands finally started to tug that final cloth barrier downward, off my leg and out of the way. It only occurred to me later to maybe be embarrassed about her staring so intently at my rigidity, now only inches from her face, but all I could think about was the feeling of her breath against my already hot skin and the way her smile grew when I started to twitch. She looked like nothing quite so much as a lithe jungle cat about to pounce on some small helpless creature it had been toying with relentlessly and the comparison wasn't far off at all. Time slowed as she leaned forward, closing what was left of the gap, and gave me one long, languid lick from base to tip.

I hissed and moaned and fought back the sudden urge to propose to this amazing creature and she watched, amused, as all of it played across my face. I was breathing heavily when I felt her hand reach mine and give it a comforting squeeze before placing it in her hair. She caught my eyes and smiled as she bent back down over me.

"Better hold on stud, we're just getting started," she warned.

I managed to find my words long enough to croak out , "Have I mentioned you're amazing?"

She noised a smile, finding it hard to actually perform one with the head of my cock held delicately in-between her soft, mind blowing lips. Well, maybe not _mind _blowing if you catch my drift. I feel it's worth mentioning that I wasn't this witty at the time. Sam was doing her damndest to reduce me to a pile of squealing, pleasure hazed goo and succeeding with almost no effort.

She applied suction, her cheeks going concave, and then agonizingly slowly she slid down the length of me. I could feel every delicious millimeter of her lips sliding over the iron-like hardness of my erection. I'm not huge, so objectively the process can't have lasted long, but I spent an eternity watching in rapt attention as inch after inch of cock slipped past that tight pink ring and into the molten warmth of her mouth. I knew from casual conversation in the past that Samantha Pucket just so happened to have no gag reflex, but in no way prepared me for the sensation of my cock-head hitting the back of her throat as her nose buried itself in the curls at the base of my shaft.

Her eye's rose to meet mine, as I groaned so fucking loud I idly hoped that this safe house didn't have any neighbors. She looked quite pleased with herself and the waves of pure sultry seduction rolling off of her only served to turn me on more. I gripped my handful of her hair tighter as my breathing quickened and when she moaned in satisfaction at the feeling of me tugging her golden girls my eyes rolled back in my head and I forced what would have likely been a scream back down.

"Do that again," I pleaded, my voice raw and heavy.

But she didn't, instead she pressed her tongue against the bottom of my shaft as she drew her head back up, a little more quickly this time, and released me with an audible pop. Her breathing was heavy, matching mine.

"Girl's gotta breathe," she smiled, "but that will definitely happen again."

She went slower this time, but the effect wasn't any less great. She laved my cock with her tongue, the sensation at once smooth and rough, dragging across the silken skin and leaving fire in its wake. She was driving me to the edge of insanity, I was standing on the goddamn brink and I knew what awaited me over the cliff. She lapped the underside of the head and I grunted in renewed pleasure, barely keeping myself from exploding, she noticed my reaction an returned to the spot, flicking her tongue back and forth while she pumped the rest of me with her hand.

"Sam…," I tried to warn her, but properly constructed sentences were dependent on a functioning brain. "I'm…huh-I'm, fuckingodamnwoman."

Sam looked at my face, ecstasy and torment warring over my features and got the message I was trying to convey clearly…and that's when she ended me.

"Cum for me Freddie," she said moving her mouth around the end of my cock, "momma wants it."

I held of long enough for her to form a tight seal around me and start to suck before I lost my tenuous grip on sanity and shot every conscious nerve, anxiety, stressful thought and ounce of consciousness I had out of my rock hard dick and into her waiting mouth. With a guttural cry that sat somewhere between a growl and a scream, my back arched, shoving me further into her mouth and causing her to choke slightly, some of my seed spilling out of her mouth and onto her chest. The surprised and mildly chagrined look on her face was the last thing I saw before my whole body gave out and I collapsed back onto the mattress.

I'm not sure that I blacked out so much as I shorted out…or maybe it's the same thing, hell if I know. All I do know is everything went blank for a few seconds. When my eyes started working again I was greeted with the sight of Sam scooping an errant white glob up off one of her breasts with one finger and placing it into her mouth and I almost passed out again. This woman was going to be the death of me. I groaned aloud, it was really all I had at the moment. I was still incapable of processing everything that had just happened. The sensations and implications were so overwhelming I wasn't convinced I would ever be able to process them.

I lay there breathing heavily for several long minutes, trying to gather the pieces of my mind back together after she had shattered it so effortlessly. She was patient with me, stretching out sanguinely and snuggling up against my side. She lay her head on my chest and watched me curiously, clearly pleased with herself. She had just given me the single greatest experience of my young life and she knew it. I had heard about how the time spent after such an act could be awkward between the two people involved, but I didn't have the wherewithal to be embarrassed and I had never seen Sam feel awkward in her life.

"Are you real?" I finally managed to rasp out. I needed some water bad and judging by the incredibly sexy, puffy and chapped state of her lips she did too, but it could wait.

She laughed, "For your sake I hope so cause if you imagined all of this, you need some serious help."

I grinned a little, the endorphins kicking in and laughed along with her. I wrapped one arm around her possessively drawing her closer against me and she accepted it with no resistance. A fact that was, in and of itself, astounding.

"I tried to warn you about well…ya know," I said gesturing down towards my crotch "boom." I finished lamely with an indicative hand gesture. I had just had an earth shaking orgasm in her mouth not five minutes previously and I couldn't even say it out loud.

"I know," she assured me, looking purposefully into my eyes, "that WAS a thank you." She kissed me lightly on the cheek. "So don't get used to it."

"Remind me to get shot more often," I said with a small laugh. I was stupid happy, borderline giddy.

"I think if every guys girlfriend swallowed when they were heroic chivalry wouldn't be dead" she said the entire ridiculous sentence with complete solemnity and I couldn't help but laugh again. Not because I thought it was funny or that she was kidding, quite the opposite. She meant every word and that was so mind boggling awesome how could I not laugh? I was just feeling too damn good.

"So…," I started, leering at her with the weirdest look I could conjure, "girlfriend, huh?"

Her mouth opened to retort, but hung loosely, a few shocked and incoherent noises spilling from it as she tried to think of what to say. I reached forward, and pushed her flapping chin up, closing her mouth. I let my hand trail up her face to her cheek and stroked the side of her face lightly with my thumb while I leaned in and kissed her gently.

"It's fine Sam," I assured her with a smile, "I've kind of always wanted you to be my girlfriend. Don't freak out."

"Sam Pucket doesn't 'Freak Out' Fredweird," she deflected, looking away from me, but leaving my hand on her cheek. I turned her face back towards mine.

"No, but I think sometimes _Samantha _Pucket does." My words were gentle. It was heavy stuff, and unexplored territory for the two of us. I was pretty sure she didn't yet realize how well I understood her and I wasn't sure how far I could push inside her barriers before there was serious backlash. She wanted to argue, I could see it on her face, she was fighting her natural responses internally, but my Sam must have won out because without a word she turned around and snuggled up against me. I knew that was just as much to hide her blushing face as anything else so I sat there in comfortable silence with her, a small grin across my face. It was a small victory, but it meant the world.

I knew I needed to lighten the mood before all of the "emotional crap", as Sam would have put it, became too much for her.

"Two questions," I said into her golden mane.

"Shoot," she said. Glad for the distraction from her own thoughts.

"Where the hell did you learn to do…_THAT…_" I asked more meekly than intended. Yea, smooth Freddie. B.J. Smoove. Judging by the number of sexual encounters I wanted to have with her in the near future I needed to get a LOT more comfortable talking about it.

"I dunno," she said shrugging nonchalantly "porn I guess."

"You guess?" I deadpanned.

"Well momma had to take care of herself since no one else was," she elbowed me in the gut for emphasis like all sexual frustrations since the dawn of puberty were somehow my fault.

"What kind of porn?" I ventured.

She responded with another, sharper, elbow to my ribs.

"We'll circle back around to that one," I joked.

"What was the second question?" she asked.

I noticed she had started unconsciously rubbing her ass against my crotch, likely seeking her release. I leaned in closer to her ear, my breath hot on her ear and ground my hips forward into her.

"When is it my turn to thank you?"

She had flipped around in an instant, crushing her lips furiously against mine.

"I thought you'd never ask," she hissed breathlessly. "Right fucking now."

**A/N: **Again, thank you all for your continued support, it is a source of no small inspiration to me. Special thanks to PrincessPurplee, the "guy who has been waiting", and everyone else whose kind words got lost deep in the cavernous and horrific confines of my inbox. Oh and as always, thanks to my lovely editor, who will be making her cameo in the next chapter.

Music Listened to While Writing this:

Uneasy Hearts Weight The Most by Dance Gaving Dance (Feat. Nic Newsham of Gatsby's American Dream)

And

The Ocean Liner Incident by Say Anything


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